India’s prepaid plans have been hiked twice since 2021. A third hike is expected within months. This time the change is not just in price. What counts as unlimited is shrinking. Here is what to expect and what to do.
India’s telecom companies have raised prepaid prices twice since 2021. The next hike is coming within three to four months, according to Centrum Institutional Research’s July 2026 sector report. Most analysts are working with a range of 10 to 15 percent. A Rs. 299 plan becomes Rs. 344. A Rs. 399 plan becomes Rs. 459.
But the price is not actually the part that matters most.
What matters is that the plans themselves are changing shape. Unlimited is starting to mean something different from what it meant when you last recharged. And the next hike will push that further.
For prepaid mobile recharge across all operators, Bajaj Pay, the Bharat Connect payments platform on Bajaj Finance, shows the exact plan amount before you confirm, through UPI, cards, or net banking.
Why Telecom Companies Cannot Just Raise Prices and Stop
Here is why this is happening, in the simplest terms.
Your telecom company collects around Rs. 196 from each customer every month on average, per TRAI’s Performance Indicator Report for the quarter ending March 2026. To maintain the network, pay for 5G, and run sustainably, industry analysts estimate they need Rs. 250 to Rs. 300 per customer per month.
That gap does not close with one price hike.
Rs. 196 plus 15 percent is Rs. 225. Still well below Rs. 250.
So, two things have to happen together. Prices go up. And what each plan includes gets quietly smaller. The second part is already happening. Most people have not noticed because it has been gradual.
What Unlimited Has Already Stopped Including
Think about your prepaid mobile recharge plan from three years ago versus what you get today.
- 5G was free for everyone. Now it is not.
If your plan costs less than Rs. 349, you are not getting 5G speeds even if you have a 5G phone and live in a 5G area. Full-speed 5G is now restricted to plans at a specific price with a specific daily data minimum. A Rs. 299 plan in a 5G city gives you 4G. The tower is there. Your plan no longer reaches it - Streaming apps used to come with most plans. Now they depend on price.
A few years ago, a standard recharge came with a reasonable bundle of streaming apps included. Today, what you get depends heavily on what you pay. Lower plans get fewer apps or none at all. The streaming bundle has moved from something everyone got to something higher-paying customers get.
- After your daily data runs out, you can still browse. But barely.
Once you hit your daily limit, speed drops to 64 Kbps. At that speed, a page takes 20 to 30 seconds to load. Streaming is not possible. But that slow access is still free. You can still check messages or look something up. For now. This is the thing most likely to change in the next hike.
Each of these changes arrived quietly, across two price hike cycles, with no headline. The plans kept calling themselves unlimited. Unlimited just covered a little less each time.
What the Next Hike May Take Away
No operator has made a formal announcement yet. But based on what operators and industry analysts have been saying about restructuring plans rather than simply raising prices, three changes are most likely.
- Slow browsing after your daily limit may stop being free.
Right now, when your data runs out for the day, you get very slow access at no extra charge. That may become a paid add-on. Your data stops at the daily limit. To keep browsing, you buy a top-up or booster. The free slow evening internet that many people quietly rely on may no longer exist on basic plans.
- 5G access may move to a higher price point.
The current 5G threshold is Rs. 349 with at least 2 GB per day. After the next hike, that threshold may move higher. Plans that include 5G today may not include it at the revised price of the same plan.
- Streaming bundles may shrink further at mid-range prices.
Streaming apps are valuable. Operators know exactly how valuable. The more valuable a benefit, the more likely it is to move up to a higher price tier. Plans that currently include a decent OTT bundle may include less after the revision, with the better bundles locked behind a higher price point. None of this is confirmed. But the direction is consistent with what has already happened twice before.
What to Do Before the Hike Arrives
There are two practical steps worth taking now.
Lock in a long-validity plan at current prices.
An annual or 90-day plan recharged now secures current prices and current plan contents for the full validity period. If you are on a monthly plan, this is the clearest action available. A Rs. 1,999 annual plan recharged today holds that structure for 12 months regardless of what operators announce next quarter.
Know your actual daily data usage.
If the free post-daily-limit browsing disappears, users who regularly hit their daily cap will feel it most. If your actual usage fits within your daily data allowance with room to spare, the change affects you less. If you regularly rely on slow-speed access after hitting the limit, a plan with a higher daily cap may serve you better before that access becomes a paid extra.
For a Jio prepaid recharge or any other operator, the plan that suits your actual usage is a better foundation than the cheapest plan available.
Recharge With Prepaid Plan of Your Choice on Bajaj Finance
Long-validity plans are available now at current prices and current plan structures. Recharging today locks both in.
Steps to recharge your prepaid plan:
- Open the Bajaj Finance app or visit bajajfinserv.in and log in
- Open the Bajaj Finance app or visit bajajfinserv.in and log in
- Enter your mobile number and select your operator
- Browse available plans and select a long-validity option
- Confirm the recharge amount and choose a payment method
- Complete the transaction for instant confirmation
Two price hikes since 2021 raised the cost of your plan. The third one, expected within months, will likely raise the cost and reduce what the plan includes. Post-daily-limit browsing, 5G access, and streaming bundles are the three areas most at risk of changing. The plan that calls itself unlimited today may use the same word after the next hike but cover less ground. Locking in a long-validity plan now protects both the price and the contents for the months ahead.
