Bharti Airtel is the second biggest telecom company in India right now. Some of the moves that the Sunil Bharti Mittal-led telecom operator has played in the industry have worked very well in the favour of it. Now, it seems that Bharti Airtel is again up to something big with the launch of Airtel Black postpaid plans. At the face value, these plans look like a mere bundling of offerings under a single bill. However, the reasons for launching these postpaid plans along with the details, run deeper than that. The Airtel Black is clearly meant to be for the premium customer base who are ready to shell out a lot for these services. But, speaking from the perspective of the customers also, these plans make a lot of sense.
Evolution to Bundled Offerings
In the pre-Reliance Jio era, the services of DTH, mobile broadband, and wired internet were often seen as being very distinct from each other. But, now the times have changed and as such, the lines are blurred. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, the two top telecom companies of the country are offering prepaid, postpaid, DTH, and wired broadband services. Now the good thing about these markets is the similar pricing which the companies have to maintain because of extreme competition and hence, the customers have lots of options to choose from at the same price tag. This, however, also translates to fewer offers, fewer discounts, and very similar offerings which are often identical. This is what Airtel Black seems to be doing differently.
By bundling all the services under a single umbrella and a single bill, the subscribers of Bharti Airtel Black postpaid plans will not only have ease of access but also will get premium customer services also. They will not have to rush to multiple numbers in case anything goes wrong with their DTH, or internet. With priority customer service and lifetime free servicing, the Airtel Black customers will be able to experience the best by clubbing all their services under one banner. This would include easy single bill payment, monitoring data use in a single app, and no hassle of maintaining multiple subscriptions.
Good For the Financial Health of the Telecom Industry
From the industry’s perspective, people might think it is selling very attractive plans and offerings on the outside, but from the inside, the industry is in financial shambles. This is because the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) which is a key metric in the telecom industry has dwindled low to sub-Rs 200 levels in the last few years. In such a scenario, offerings like Airtel Black postpaid plans are something that will turn the tide. There is a stratum of customers who are ready to pay the premium price to experience the best of services. However, because of excessive demand for affordable prepaid plans and cheap data, this customer set has been ignored for a long time. But, with the foray of Airtel Black plans, this is about to take a turn.
The same thing was done with the Vodafone RED postpaid plans. Something that offers luxurious benefits bundled with the plans and promises a sceptically high speed as compared to its normal postpaid plans. Although Airtel Black takes a different and more proven approach towards premium postpaid plans, this is something that will surely give a nudge to ARPU towards the upper side.
