Update: Airtel has confirmed to financialexpress.com that there’s been no change in the content offerings for the Rs 979 plan. The Rs 979 plan was priced at Rs 839 before the recent tariff hike and did not include Amazon Prime. After the tariff hike, the same has been priced at Rs 979 along with additional OTT offers that were not included earlier. The plan that did have Amazon Prime was priced at Rs 999 before the price hike and is now valued at Rs 1,199. It is also bundled with 20+ OTT.
Bharti Airtel has made a quiet change to its Rs 979 prepaid plan, removing the popular free Amazon Prime membership benefit. Instead of offering Prime, Airtel now provides access to over 20 OTT (over-the-top) apps, including Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Fancode, Eros Now, hoichoi, ManoramaMAX, and more, through its Airtel Xstream Play service.
New OTT benefits on Rs 979 plan
Previously, the Rs 979 plan came with a free Amazon Prime membership for 56 days. Now, with the recent changes, customers will receive access to a wide range of OTT apps for a longer period of 84 days. This shift highlights Airtel’s focus on expanding its content offerings, giving users a variety of streaming options beyond Amazon Prime.
For those who valued the Amazon Prime benefit, Airtel has moved it to higher-tier plans. The membership is now only available with plans offering 2.5GB of data per day or more, such as the Rs 1,199 and Rs 838 plans. Previously, users could enjoy this benefit with the Rs 979 plan, which provided 2GB of data per day. This change indicates Airtel’s strategy to encourage users to opt for more expensive plans to access premium benefits like Amazon Prime.
One of the key changes with the Rs 979 plan is the increased validity of the new OTT offerings. While the Amazon Prime membership was valid for only 56 days, the new OTT bundle is available for the entire 84-day validity of the plan. This ensures that users can enjoy continuous entertainment throughout the duration of their plan.
Despite the removal of Amazon Prime, Airtel continues to offer the same core benefits with the Rs 979 plan. These include unlimited 5G data, unlimited calling, and 100 daily SMS.
Comparison with Jio
In contrast, Reliance Jio has also made adjustments to its prepaid plans. Recently, Jio reintroduced its Rs 999 prepaid plan, which now offers 2GB of data per day for 98 days. This plan includes unlimited 5G data, 100 SMS per day, and unlimited voice calling. However, the total data has been reduced compared to its previous offering, which provided 3GB per day.