Bharti Airtel opens online store

Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator by subscribers, has launched an online store selling a range of devices and premium smartphones with affordable down payments, financing and bundled monthly plans.

Airtel's Online Store went live on Monday with Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus variants and the company plans to add devices from all leading brands to the store's offerings in the near future.

The iPhone 7 (32GB) is available at a down payment of Rs7,777 and 24 monthly installments of Rs2,499. The monthly installments have a built-in high-end postpaid plan which offers 30GB data, unlimited calling (local, STD, national roaming) and Airtel Secure package that covers the device against any physical damage and offers cyber protection.

The launch of the online store is part of Project Next, Airtel's digital innovation programme aimed at transforming customer experience across all of its services and touch points. Airtel plans to invest up to Rs2,000 crore under Project Next to launch several exciting digital innovations to step change the simplicity and interactivity of the Airtel customer experience.

''This is yet another exciting digital innovation from Airtel to delight customers. Not only are we making it easier for millions of customers to upgrade to devices they always wanted, we are also making the entire process seamless and simple through digital technologies. Imagine getting your dream device, instant credit to purchase it and a great plan to go with it, all available in one place with a few clicks,'' Harmeen Mehta, Global CIO and director – Engineering, Bharti Airtel said.

Airtel has partnered with Apple, HDFC Bank, Clix Capital, Seynse Technologies, Brightstar Telecommunications and Vulcan Express for its online store, which is currently available in 21 cities.