I am an Airtel customer in Bhalukpong, Sonitpur District,  Assam, and I, along with many others, am deeply affected by Airtel’s unfair postpaid → prepaid conversion process. While migrating from prepaid to postpaid is simple — just an OTP is needed and no KYC is required — switching back to prepaid is unnecessarily complicated. Customers are forced to visit an Airtel store, repeat KYC, and clear bills offline. In Bhalukpong, there is no local Airtel office, and I would have to travel 60 km just to complete this process. Additionally, my Airtel postpaid account includes my family members, and now Airtel requires both the SIM holder and the family member to visit the office to remove them — even though adding them earlier required only OTP verification.

If Airtel continues this one-sided and restrictive practice, customers in Bhalukpong and surrounding areas will remain trapped in postpaid plans against their choice, wasting time and money traveling long distances. Customers lose the convenience, transparency, and flexibility that digital services are supposed to provide. Families like mine, who manage multiple numbers under one postpaid account, face unnecessary harassment and frustration for simple tasks like removing a member or switching to prepaid. On the other hand, if Airtel reforms its process, customers can enjoy equal, fair, and transparent service, with the ability to switch plans or manage family members online without unnecessary travel or repeated KYC.

Immediate action is needed because Airtel continues to mislead and inconvenience customers, while claiming to offer digital-first, customer-friendly services. By demanding in-person visits and repeat KYC, especially where there is no local office in Bhalukpong, Airtel is making a simple migration impractical and unfair. Thousands of Airtel customers across Assam and India are likely facing the same issue. If we act now, we can pressure Airtel and regulatory authorities like TRAI to make the process simple, transparent, and convenient, ensuring that digital telecom services work for the consumer, not against them.