Airtel has reinstated its Rs. 299 recharge plan a few months after discontinuing it. Furthermore, Airtel's user base declined by 78% in the September quarter. Check out the company's latest figures.

Airtel 299 plan is back.

Airtel Subscriber Loss: Retaining users is now becoming a major challenge for Airtel. The company discontinued its ₹299 prepaid recharge plan in August 2026, after which the starting price of the daily data plan became ₹349. However, Airtel has now reinstated its ₹299 plan within a few months. This decision by the company comes at a time when the pace of adding new mobile users has slowed significantly. The number of new users joining Airtel in the September quarter decreased by 78 percent compared to the June quarter. At the same time, the number of users leaving the company's network has also increased. 
 

The number of new users fell by 78%

Airtel's biggest concern in the September quarter was the pace of new mobile user additions. In the June quarter, the company added 3.27 million new mobile users, but this figure fell to just 7.2 million in the September quarter. This represents a decline of approximately 78% in the three-month period. This figure was significantly lower than market estimates. Brokerages had expected Airtel to add 2.5 to 3 million new mobile users this quarter, but the company fell far short. Airtel's total mobile subscriber base stood at 377 million at the end of the September quarter.

User attrition rates also increased.

The company's problems aren't limited to fewer new users joining. Airtel's monthly churn rate, or the rate of users leaving the company each month, has also increased. This rate, which was 2.6 percent in the June quarter, increased to 2.9 percent in the September quarter, equating to approximately 1.1 million additional users leaving the company each month. This also impacted the company's prepaid business. Airtel's prepaid user base declined by an estimated 500,000 during the September quarter.

Did discontinuing the Rs 299 plan prove costly?

Airtel discontinued its ₹299 plan on August 12, 2026. Following this decision, the starting price of the daily data plan increased to ₹349. Consequently, users had to spend approximately 17% more on their initial recharge. According to a Citi Research report, the company's premium diversification strategy during this time led to a rise in user attrition. Airtel has now reintroduced the ₹299 plan, but the daily data limit has been reduced to 1GB. Previously, many users received 1.5GB of data daily at this price.