India : Bharti Airtel slashes prepaid tariffs to compete with Jio

MUMBAI : India’s top telecommunications carrier Bharti Airtel on Thursday unveiled unlimited voice calls and more 4G data under a new plan, to take on rival Reliance Jio that recently extended its free services.

For 345 rupees ($ 5.12), Bharti Airtel will allow users to make unlimited calls to any network and consume 1 GB 4G data for 28 days, the carrier said in a statement. Under a separate plan of 145 rupees, users will get 300 MB of 4G data and unlimited calls within Airtel network for 28 days, it said.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which launched telecoms services in September, recently unveiled a three-month extension until end-March for its offer of free data and voice services.

Jio’s launch has led to a price war in India’s highly competitive mobile market. State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd also earlier in the week offered attractive plans to compete with the new entrant in the market and retain its share.