Just recently we shared with you that Jio could soon announce a hike for its value plans and introduce a new value plan also. New Jio value plans expected to be announced are- Rs 479, Rs 539, Rs 1999 and Rs 2249. Among these plans, Rs 479 and Rs 1999 value plans arrived with no internet facility but included benefits like unlimited calling, SMS up to a certain limit, and more.

Well, Jio is yet to officially announce the availability of these plans, meanwhile, Airtel has already introduced similar without internet prepaid plans for its users on the Airtel website.

New Airtel Plans Without Internet

The first plan is valued at Rs 509 and arrives with 84 days validity and offers benefits like Unlimited local STD & Roaming calls, and 900 SMS while additional benefits include suspected spam alert for Spam calls and SMS, free content on Airtel Xstream app, free hello tunes and 3 months subscription for Apollo 24/7 circle.

The second plan is valued at Rs 1999 and arrives with 365 days of validity. It comes with benefits like Unlimited local STD & Roaming calls, and 3600 SMS whereas additional benefit includes suspected spam alert for Spam calls and SMS, free content on the Airtel Xstream app, free Hello tunes, and 3 month subscription to Apollo 24/7 Circle.

This Rs 1999 Airtel plan is similar to Jio Rs 1999 value plan while Rs 509 Airtel plan offers similar benefits and validity as that of Jio Rs 479 Jio plan. However, the additional benefits of both Airtel and Jio differ.

The post Airtel Introduces Two New Prepaid Plans With Unlimited Calling But Without Internet appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

India has implemented a new Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) service that allows mobile users to maintain connectivity even in areas with weak network signals. Launched on January 17, the service enables customers of BSNL, Jio, and Airtel to automatically connect to any available network when their primary network is unavailable.

The ICR service operates through mobile towers funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) program. Under this initiative, telecom providers can share infrastructure, allowing users to switch seamlessly between networks at the same tower location without incurring additional charges.

The government’s program aims to establish approximately 27,000 mobile towers to provide coverage to more than 35,000 villages. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia introduced the service, emphasizing its role in improving education, healthcare, and economic activities in underserved areas.

This marks a significant change from the previous system, where DBN-funded towers were restricted to use by the operators who installed them. The new shared infrastructure approach is expected to reduce the need for additional towers while improving resource utilization for telecom companies.

The service primarily benefits users in rural and remote areas, where network connectivity has traditionally been challenging. By allowing access to any available network at DBN-funded towers, the initiative aims to reduce dropped calls and improve data speeds across regions.

The post No Network? No Problem: Jio, Airtel, and BSNL Users Can Now Make Calls Anyway appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Airtel users this morning experienced issues accessing internet services, with some reporting complete loss of network connectivity on their mobile phones. According to the Down Detector website, the problems began around 10:15 AM IST and persisted until 11:30 AM. The issue appears to have been resolved, though Airtel has yet to provide an official statement regarding the cause of the disruption.

However, the outage seems to have been selective, as users in Delhi NCR, including myself and my contacts in the region, did not experience any interruption in their internet services.

The post Airtel Outage Issue Seems to Have Been Resolved Now appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Whenever it comes to looking for a recharge plan, most of us tend to look for plans that offer maximum benefits and are also affordable. Well, Airtel has recently announced a new prepaid plan for its users that is budget-friendly and also offers a Disney+ Hotstar subscription for 28 days.

Airtel Rs 398 Prepaid Plan

This plan offers 2GB/day data and also includes unlimited 5G data. Users can enjoy unlimited calling and 100 SMS/day. Along with these benefits, it also includes a Disney+ Hotstar subscription, though the subscription is for mobile only which means it cannot be used on TV, computer, or other devices. The validity of this prepaid plan is 28 days.

Users can purchase this plan from the Airtel Thanks app and website and also other recharge apps like PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, etc.

With unlimited 5G data and an OTT subscription, this recharge plan is said to be the most affordable plan in India. As user will be able to enjoy their favorite shows, movies, live matches, and more on their smartphone without paying for the subscription separately.

Stay tuned with The Tech Outlook for more latest updates.

The post Airtel Launches New Rs 398 Prepaid Plan With Disney+ Hotstar Mobile Subscription For 28 Days appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

In recent developments, two major Indian telecom providers have announced AI-powered solutions aimed at enhancing digital security and combating unwanted communications. Airtel led the charge with its spam detection tool, followed by BSNL’s announcement of an upcoming anti-scam solution.

Airtel’s AI-Powered Spam Detection Tool

On September 25, Bharti Airtel launched an AI-powered spam detection tool. The system is designed to flag suspected spam calls and messages in real-time for Airtel users. According to the company, the tool is automatically activated for all subscribers at no additional cost. It employs a proprietary algorithm to classify communications as “Suspected SPAM” by analyzing various parameters such as caller usage patterns, call frequency, and duration. This data is then cross-referenced with known spam patterns for identification.

Airtel’s Managing Director and CEO, Gopal Vittal, commented on the launch, stating, “Spam has become a menace for customers. We have spent the last twelve months to solve this comprehensively. Today marks a milestone as we launch the country’s first AI-powered spam free network that will shield our customers from the continuous onslaught of intrusive and unwanted communications.”

BSNL’s Upcoming AI/ML Solution for Scam Prevention

Following Airtel’s initiative, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has now revealed its own plans in the AI space. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the state-owned telecom company announced: “Good news! We’ve cracked it. A breakthrough AI/ML-powered solution is in its final stage, designed to identify, neutralize & eliminate scams before they reach you. The future of digital security is #ComingSoon. Big reveal at India Mobile Congress 2024.”

Good news! We’ve cracked it. A breakthrough AI/ML-powered solution is in its final stage, designed to identify, neutralize & eliminate scams before they reach you. The future of digital security is #ComingSoon.
Big reveal at India Mobile Congress 2024.#BSNL #BSNLAntiSpamNetwork pic.twitter.com/XBZCn25kzS

— BSNL India (@BSNLCorporate) September 26, 2024

The post After Airtel’s AI Spam Blocker, BSNL Announces Upcoming Anti-Scam Solution appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Festivals in India have already started and so have the deals and offers for these festive months. One of the top telecom company, Airtel has today announced three new festive recharge plans in India but for a limited time period. Also only the prepaid users can enjoy the benefits of these new plans.

Airtel 2024 Festive Recharge Plans

• First is the Rs.949 prepaid recharge plan that offers 2GB daily data, unlimited calls and 22+ OTT benefits on XStream Premium. It includes a 10GB data coupon with 28 days validity. This plan is valid for 84 days only.
• Next is the Rs.1029 prepaid plan that offers 2GB daily data, unlimited voice calls, Disney+otstar subscription, 22+ OTT benefits with XStream Premium and 10GB of data coupon that will remain valid for 28 days only.
• The last is the Rs.3,599 prepaid plan that offer 2GB daily data, 22+ OTT benefits with XStream Premium, unlimited calls and a 10GB data coupon with a validity period of 28 days. This plan arrives with 1 year validity.

Well if you want to enjoy the benefit of any of the above festive recharge plan, then hurry as these offers are valid till 11^th September only.

The post Airtel Introduces 3 New Festive Recharge Plans For Prepaid Consumers appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Streaming services whether it is films, podcasts, series, or music, mark a large amount of consumerism in terms of the entertainment sector. Thus, the competition between video and music streaming platforms is always heavily on. In this regard, almost every telecom service provider has their video and music streaming services in the present day.

Airtel, one of the largest competitors in India’s telecom industry, offers exclusive streaming services like Airtel XStream Play and Wynk Music. In the latest developments, Airtel announced that they will be shutting down their music streaming service Wynk.

This decision, though a surprise, does have other parallel developments that Airtel is planning on. While Wynk Music did have powerful competitors like Spotify and Apple Music, in terms of its individual growth, Wynk Music was performing well. Airtel’s Wynk Music amounted to 5% of all music downloads in the quarter end of June 2018. This increased to 8% for the same quarter this year. These statistics, as stated by UBS, a brokerage firm, clearly underline the growth of the service. On the other hand, according to Deutsche Bank, Wynk Music shared about 20% of the market with its downloads in the Asia Pacific region.

Airtel’s partnership with Apple Music

While Airtel is shutting down its Music streaming service, Apple Music on the other hand is joining hands with Airtel to offer its customers exciting offers for its music streaming service. This means that with this, Apple’s music streaming service, Apple Music will now be available for certain Airtel customers. Apple is probably trying to increase its customer reach in India, a country with about 90% Android users. Although Apple Music and Apple TV+ are available for Android, android users commonly go for popular Android alternative music streaming options.

Let’s look at all the changes in services that will follow as a result of Airtel and Apple’s partnership.

• Premium Airtel customers with subscriptions to Airtel’s premium broadband and postpaid services in India, can now avail of an Airtel bundle Apple TV+ in their services.
• Airtel customers will have the option of Apple Music as a music streaming service.
• On the other hand, Wynk users with paid subscriptions will now gain additional offers.
• Charges for Apple TV+ and Apple Music in India are likely to decrease. At present Apple TV+ and Apple Music is available at 99 Indian rupees per month.
• Wynk Music employees will be transferred to other sectors of Airtel’s business.

These changes will be applied in the latter half of this year.

The post Airtel’s Wynk Music to close shutters forever, new Apple-Airtel partnership will offer Apple Music service to Airtel customers appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

POCO launched the POCO C61 smartphone in March in India. Now the company has partnered with Airtel to launch the POCO C61 smartphone with the Airtel exclusive benefits. This smartphone is listed on Flipkart for Rs 5,999 and will go on sale from 17th July. This smartphone will be locked to the Airtel network for 18 months.

Customers can recharge with any Truly Unlimited prepaid pack from Airtel priced above Rs 199 during this period and after 18 months this phone can be used with any network. Additionally, smartphone users also get the free 50GB of data.

Now when we have got to know about the benefits that this smartphone brings with itself, let’s get to know about the specs also.

POCO C61 Smartphone

The POCO C61 smartphone features a 6.71-inch wide display with a 90Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness. The MediaTek Helio G36 processor powers it and runs Android 14 out of the box. Though this smartphone came in two configurations the POCO C61 with Airtel Exclusive edition is going to come in the single configuration of 4GB RAM with 64GB storage. In the camera department, the smartphone has an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The smartphone is backed by a 5,000mAh battery that supports 10W charging.

The post POCO C61 Smartphone With Airtel Exclusive Benefits Announced, Will Be Available On Flipkart For Rs 5,999 appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Indian Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has issued a statement saying “This is nothing short of a desperate attempt to tarnish Airtel’s reputation”. Bharti Airtel is reported to have been hacked by a Chinese threat actor xenZen who has stolen 375 million numbers, email IDs, and addresses of the users. This data is said to be listed on the dark web for the sale of 37.5 crore.

Airtel itself came forth and wrote on X “there has been a report alleging that Airtel customer data has been compromised. This is nothing short of a desperate attempt to tarnish Airtel’s reputation by vested interests”. The company says that they have done a thorough investigation and can confirm that there has been no breach whatsoever from Airtel systems.

pic.twitter.com/OyQhXBT3pg

— airtel India (@airtelindia) July 5, 2024

Rahul Sai who is the co-founder and CEO of the CloudSEK wrote on this on Linkein that “the recent Airtel database leak reported on Dark Web News is inaccurate”. As per Rahul, this must be the previously leaked data that the actor is falsely claiming to be the recent one. And he also mentioned ” Threat actors are aggregating this publicly available leaked information and falsely attributing it to telecom databases. It’s important to note that it’s relatively easy to compile a database consisting of first names, last names, and phone numbers belonging to any service provider using publicly available datasets”.

The post Airtel Denies Data Breach Claims, Calls Allegations a Desperate Attempt to Tarnish Reputation appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Vi has followed the path of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel has announced the tariff hikes for its plans. As per the announcement, this will come into effect from 4th July till then you can recharge based on existing plan prices.

The cheapest monthly plan which costs Rs 179 and comes with 2GB data and 300 SMS validity will be available for Rs 199, while the most affordable daily data plans starting from Rs 269 will be available at Rs 299. If we talk about the data add-on plans, users will have to pay Rs 22 for 1GB of data, which is now Rs 19, and for 6GB of data, users will have to pay Rs 48 instead of Rs 39.

A similar change has been announced for the postpaid plans which are as follows

The post After Reliance Jio And Bharti Airtel Now Vi Announced The Tariff Hikes appeared first on The Tech Outlook.