Bharti Airtel shares jump 2% after telco drops Rs 249 plan, Jefferies sees 31% upside potential

(Source: Airtel website)

The shares of Bharti Airtel jumped more than 2 percent to its day's high after the telecom company dropped its Rs 249 pack, which was one of its cheapest prepaid plans. The shares of the company hit an intraday high of Rs 1,951 apiece.

Airtel's website shows the price of the plan has changed to Rs 299. The Rs 249 prepaid plan earlier offered 1 GB of daily data, unlimited local, STD and roaming calls, along with 100 SMS per day. It carried a validity of 24 days, and was considered one of the most budget-friendly pack offered by the telecom major.

According to the details on the website, the Rs 299 prepaid pack will offer 1 GB data and 100 SMS per day for 28 days.

"Effective 00:00 Hours, Aug 20, 2025, recharge 249 will be discontinued," read a notice on Airtel Thanks app. Notably, Airtel's Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) stood at Rs 250 for Q1 FY26.

Reliance Jio has also discontinued its entry-level 1 GB per day prepaid packs priced at Rs 209 for 22 days and Rs 249 for 28 days.

Jefferies said Jio and Bharti’s tariff tweaks will likely boost data usage among the users. The rise in the base plan price can lift ARPU by 4 to 8 percent in a revenue neutral way. "We view the move as positive for subscriber monetisation," it added.

The international brokerage kept a target price of Rs 2,500 per share for the shares of Airtel, implying an upside potential of nearly 31 percent from the stock’s previous closing price.

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