Airtel Announces Free International Roaming on All Postpaid Plans With 5GB Data, 60 Minutes Calls

Airtel announced free international roaming for all postpaid subscribers in India on Wednesday. The move aims to alleviate the expense of international roaming, which has traditionally been an additional cost for mobile users travelling abroad, with operators offering separate packs for data, calls and SMS. The benefit will extend to every member on eligible Airtel postpaid family plans. The telecom operator said that subscribers will be eligible to avail one international roaming trip per year.

Free International Roaming on Airtel Postpaid

The new postpaid plans will include one free international roaming trip per year for every SIM, Airtel said in a press note. It will be available from October 8 and applies to both individual and family postpaid plans. Instead of sharing a single allowance, each member enrolled in the family plan will be included, taking advantage of their own free roaming benefit.

The complimentary roaming pack will offer 5GB of mobile data, 60 minutes of calls, 25 outgoing SMS and free incoming SMS. The benefits remain valid for five days. The operator said it will allow subscribers to activate the pack at the exact time they need it, rather than having its validity begin automatically when they subscribe to the postpaid plan.

Airtel's new postpaid plans start at Rs. 499 per month for an individual connection. There is also a Rs. 749 family plan that covers two SIMs. Meanwhile, the Rs. 1,049 and Rs. 1,249 plans are designed for families of three and four, respectively. Airtel also offers Rs. 1,449 and Rs. 1,799 family plans for four and five SIMs, respectively.

All six plans include one free international roaming trip per SIM every year.

In addition to the complimentary roaming benefit, Airtel users can access unlimited data and calling, along with Airtel's spam and fraud prevention features. The bundled subscriptions, however, vary depending on the plan. For instance, the cheapest Rs. 499 offering includes Xstream Play Premium and Google One. On the other hand, higher-priced family plans add services like Amazon Prime, JioHotstar, Apple Music, Apple iCloud+ and Netflix.

Existing Airtel customers on both old postpaid and prepaid plans can upgrade to the new plans through the Airtel App or by visiting an Airtel Store.

Airtel's announcement comes shortly after Vodafone Idea (Vi) announced a similar roaming-focused benefit. It offers free international roaming on select prepaid, postpaid and enterprise plans. Vi says its benefit covers more than 170 countries and allows eligible users up to three international trips a year, depending on their plan. Vi's eligible postpaid plans start at Rs. 501.