Vodafone Idea has bundled free international roaming into select prepaid, postpaid and enterprise plans, adding roaming benefits to its premium offerings as it seeks to strengthen the value proposition for higher-paying customers. Morgan Stanley said the move could increase competition in the postpaid segment but expects the near-term impact on Bharti Airtel’s churn to remain limited.
The new plans provide eligible customers with international roaming benefits across more than 170 countries. In select postpaid plans, customers can get one to three free international trips for an additional monthly charge, while annual prepaid plans also include roaming benefits.
Vodafone Idea adds free international roaming to select plans
Vodafone Idea has introduced free international roaming on select annual prepaid plans, postpaid plans starting at Rs 501 and enterprise plans starting at Rs 451.
“VIL has bundled free international roaming into select prepaid and postpaid plans. While a like-for-like comparison is difficult, it is providing meaningful value to users, especially in postpaid plans. Near term we see limited impact on churn ratios for Bharti,” Morgan Stanley said.
The move brings international roaming into the plan itself instead of requiring eligible customers to purchase a separate roaming pack. Morgan Stanley said the proposition is aimed at improving the premium customer offering and supporting retention and acquisition in the segment.
Customers on the eligible plans can access roaming benefits in more than 170 countries, with data, calling and SMS allowances varying by plan.
Vodafone Idea vs Bharti Airtel: Postpaid is the key battleground
The bigger competitive impact is likely to be in postpaid, where Vodafone Idea has increased the monthly charge by Rs 50 on selected plans to include international roaming.
Morgan Stanley’s comparison shows that the Rs 501 postpaid plan provides one international roaming trip of five days, including 5GB of data and 50 minutes of outgoing and incoming calls. The Rs 601 plan provides two free international trips, with 7GB of data for seven days on each trip.
Vodafone Idea’s existing international roaming packs are sold separately. Morgan Stanley cited its 24-hour roaming pack at Rs 649, which includes 1GB of data, 150 minutes of outgoing calls and unlimited incoming calls.
“IR plans have traditionally been sold as separate add-on packs so this move will provide an in-built IR benefit, aimed at improving the premium customer proposition, to retain and acquire premium users. Eligible subscribers can access roaming benefits across 170+ countries without purchasing a separate IR pack, with data/calling/SMS benefits varying by plan,” Morgan Stanley said.
The new structure therefore gives frequent international travellers a bundled benefit while increasing the monthly postpaid charge by Rs 50, or Rs 600 over a year.
Why Morgan Stanley sees limited near-term impact on Bharti Airtel
Morgan Stanley expects the immediate effect on Bharti Airtel Ltd. to be limited because churn in the postpaid segment is already low.
The research house said Vodafone Idea’s new offering could help retain existing premium users and attract customers to higher-value plans, but it does not expect the change to materially affect Bharti Airtel’s churn in the near term.
The potential impact is also smaller in prepaid. Morgan Stanley said annual prepaid plans account for a limited share of Vodafone Idea’s user base, while only a portion of those customers are likely to use international roaming services.
That makes the postpaid segment the more relevant area for competition between the two operators.
Will Bharti Airtel respond with similar benefits?
Morgan Stanley expects Bharti Airtel to have room to respond if Vodafone Idea’s new plans begin affecting postpaid churn.
The research house said Bharti Airtel could introduce competing offers if customer movement increases, although the current level of postpaid churn reduces the need for an immediate response.
For Vodafone Idea, the new roaming proposition also works as part of a wider premium-plan strategy. Instead of selling international roaming only as an additional service, the company is using it as a bundled benefit to increase the value of its higher-priced plans.
Prepaid plans have a smaller competitive impact
Vodafone Idea has also added international roaming to select annual prepaid plans. Depending on the plan, customers receive five days of roaming with one to five gigabytes of data, along with calling and SMS benefits.
Morgan Stanley expects the impact from these plans to be more limited than the postpaid offering because annual prepaid users represent a smaller portion of the overall subscriber base, and international roaming usage within that group is likely to be lower.
The prepaid plans also include other bundled benefits, including entertainment and digital services, depending on the plan.
Vodafone Idea is using roaming to strengthen its premium proposition
Morgan Stanley’s assessment is that Vodafone Idea’s international roaming move is primarily a premium-plan initiative, with the strongest relevance for postpaid customers who travel overseas.
The addition of roaming benefits could make Vodafone Idea’s higher-priced plans more attractive to customers who would otherwise purchase international roaming separately. For Bharti Airtel, the immediate effect is expected to be limited, although a stronger competitive response could emerge if Vodafone Idea starts seeing an impact on postpaid churn.
Disclaimer: This article is based on Morgan Stanley Research’s India Telecoms report dated September 27, 2026. The views, assessments and industry outlook cited in the article represent Morgan Stanley’s research at the time of publication and may change with subscriber trends, pricing, competitive actions, roaming usage, network investments, regulatory developments and broader telecom market conditions. References to customer migration, churn, plan economics and competitive responses are research-house assessments and may not develop as described. The article does not constitute investment advice, a solicitation, an offer to buy or sell securities, or a recommendation to act on any particular research view. Readers should consider their own financial circumstances, investment objectives, risk tolerance and time horizon and seek advice from a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision.