Airtel’s Fake Promises: Repeated Outages and Deceptive Data Plans Hurt Consumers

Airtel’s Fake Promises: Repeated Outages and Deceptive Data Plans Hurt Consumers

RMN News Report Highlights:

• ⚠️ Repeated outages: Airtel keeps shifting restoration timelines, leaving consumers stranded without reliable internet.

• 💸 Costly workaround: Customers, including journalists, are forced to use expensive mobile data to continue their work.

• 🎭 Deceptive data packs: Airtel’s “one-day unlimited plan” expires at 11:59 p.m., not after 24 hours — a misleading practice.

• 🛑 Pattern of neglect: Persistent failures show Airtel’s disregard for consumer rights and lack of backup infrastructure.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | September 30, 2025

Airtel continues to test the patience of its customers in New Delhi with recurring broadband outages and deceptive product practices that border on fraud.

On September 30, 2025, after suffering multiple 12-hour internet blackouts earlier in the month, Airtel’s service again collapsed. At 2:30 p.m., I received an SMS from Airtel admitting to a “technical issue” with my Wi-Fi connection. The message promised restoration by 8:30 p.m. the same day.

But as expected, Airtel soon moved the goalpost again. At 2:56 p.m., another SMS informed me that the services would now resume only by 9:00 p.m. This shifting of deadlines has become a routine pattern — every few hours Airtel pushes the timeline further, offering false hope instead of concrete solutions.

If past experience is any guide, Airtel will likely send yet another update later in the evening, pushing the deadline further — a tactic it has used repeatedly. This cycle of hollow assurances adds insult to injury, leaving customers stranded without reliable connectivity.

Meanwhile, Airtel is also cheating customers with its so-called “one-day unlimited data” plan priced at ₹49. Marketed as a one-day unlimited net pack, the plan does not last for 24 hours. Instead, it expires at 11:59 p.m. on the same day of activation, no matter when you recharge. If you buy the pack late in the evening, you may lose most of its value in just a few hours.

This kind of misleading product design is nothing short of daylight robbery. Customers are charged premium rates for “one day” of unlimited data but are denied the full 24 hours they are led to expect.

Worse still, because of Airtel’s repeated broadband failures, I am now forced to rely on Airtel’s mobile data for my editorial work. Mobile data is far more expensive than the broadband connection I already pay for. This raises a troubling question: Is Airtel deliberately disconnecting regular Internet connections to push customers into buying its bank-breaking mobile Internet plans? If so, this would represent not only negligence but a calculated corporate trick to extract more money from helpless users.

Combined with chronic internet outages, such practices reveal Airtel’s utter disregard for customer trust and consumer rights. While the company continues to advertise itself as a reliable, digital-first telecom leader, its actual services are riddled with failures, false promises, and exploitative billing tactics.

As part of the newly launched RMN Consumer Rights Network (CRN), these ongoing complaints against Airtel highlight the urgent need for stronger consumer protection laws in India. Without accountability and penalties, companies like Airtel will continue to exploit their customers while hiding behind SMS updates and marketing spin.

Connectivity is a lifeline in today’s economy. Airtel must stop misleading its users and start delivering on its promises.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.

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