Jio has quietly discontinued its plan that offered 1GB of daily data, unlimited calls, and additional benefits at ₹249. In a similar kind of move, Bharti Airtel is also set to discontinue its popular and affordable ₹249 prepaid plan from midnight, according to information published on the company’s official app and website.
The plan, which has been regarded as Airtel’s entry-level prepaid offering, provided 1GB of daily data along with unlimited local, STD and roaming calls. It also included 100 SMS per day and carried a validity of 24 days.
Airtel to discontinue ₹249 plan
A notice on the Airtel Thanks app confirms that the product will no longer be available from 00:00 hours on 20 August 2025. “Effective 00:00 Hours, 20th Aug 2025, recharge 249 will be discontinued,” Airtel stated.
The ₹249 pack”> ₹249 pack has been among the most widely used recharge options for subscribers seeking short-term validity and essential data benefits. Its removal is expected to nudge customers towards higher-priced plans within Airtel’s prepaid portfolio.
While Airtel has not yet announced any direct replacement for the discontinued plan, it appears that the move reflects a broader shift by telecom operators towards pushing users into longer-duration or higher-value recharges.
Airtel outage
In other news, the Airtel services were facing disruptions, as several users reported issues, especially with the app on Monday. Outage tracking platform Downdetector recorded a spike in complaints, with over 3,500 reports of service disruption around 4:30 PM IST the last day.
Breakdown of user complaints
According to Downdetector, around 68 per cent of users reported issues with mobile phones, 16 per cent experienced problems with mobile internet and 15 per cent complained of having no signal.
Mint had verified that the Airtel Thanks app was unresponsive, preventing users from logging in.
As per Downdetector, several regions across India were marked red on the outage map, including Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Patna, Jaipur, Indore, Nagpur, Kolkata, and more.
The affected regions had indicated that the disruption was spread across both northern and eastern parts of the country, while reports also surfaced from other major cities.
