Bharti Airtel on Monday slashed prepaid data charges by up to 80% in an effort to retain customers after Reliance Jio announced heavy launch discounts, reported PTI. Under a special scheme, Airtel customers will get 4G and 3G mobile internet at the rate of Rs 51 per gigabyte. Company officials said, "These prepaid packs will be launched across circles by August 31."

Bharti Airtel Director (Operations, India and South Asia) Ajai Puri said customers need to first recharge with Rs 1,498 for which they will get 1GB of 4G or 3G data that will be valid for 28 days. After the pack is over, those customers will get 1GB of 4G or 3G mobile internet for Rs 51 every time they recharge for the next year. He clarified that there will no cap on the number of recharges during these 12 months.

The telecom major is mulling a similar scheme with lower recharge amount in the coming months. Under this, Airtel customers will get 1GB of 4G data for Rs 99 for more than six months after an initial recharge of Rs 748.

According to Livemint, Bharti Airtel has introduced many data plans and reduced tariffs in the last four months. In July, the company had started offering up to 67% more data in existing 4G and 3G schemes. Earlier this month, the telecom major made voice calling free even while roaming. Puri said, "These innovative packs will allow our customers to get a lot more within the same budget."

Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner Inc, told Livemint, “The company is safeguarding its prepaid customers as it’s easy to lure them away." Director at consulting firm ComFirst Mahesh Uppal, however, believes that these deals will not be offered for long if there is no a substantial increase in the customer base. Analysts are of the opinion that other telecom majors such as Vodafone and Idea will also follow suit, reported the Times of India.