Tariff war: Airtel offers free incoming call on intl roaming

With the entry of Reliance Jio setting off a price war, Airtel today said its customers can enjoy free unlimited incoming calls on international roaming while travelling to popular destinations like the US, Canada, the UK and Singapore.

That apart, Airtel's new international roaming packs will also offer free text messages to India and "ample data benefits" along with free India calling minutes across popular destinations, the company said in a statement.

Charges for calls to India -- beyond the free usage limit -- and local in-country calls have been reduced to Rs 3 per minute across these places.

The company has launched the roaming packs with 30-day and 1-day validity for Rs 4,999 and Rs 649 rentals, respectively, for the US, Canada and the UK. With the holiday season round the corner, Airtel plans to launch a 10-day validity pack by mid-October for USD 45 (about Rs 2,990).

The 30-day pack for the US, Canada, and the UK offers 3 GB data, unlimited incoming calls, 400 minutes of calls to India and unlimited texts to India.

The one-day pack for the US, Canada and the UK comes with 300 MB data, unlimited incoming calls, 100 minutes of India calling and unlimited texts to India.

Post exhaustion of data benefits, international roaming data will be charged at Rs 3 per MB, a reduction of 99 per cent from Rs 650 per MB.

Airtel has launched similar plans for the Singapore market where the roaming rental is priced at Rs 2,499 and Rs 499 for 30-day and 1-day validity, respectively. For the UAE market, the rental is Rs 3,999 and Rs 649.

"The number of Indians travelling overseas for leisure and business is growing rapidly and our new packs ensure customers get no bill shocks and have the convenience of always keeping their phones switched on, wherever they are," said Ajai Puri, Director, Operations (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel.