Airtel launches Confidence Plan for the hearing impaired

With the intention of adding a lot more substance to the ‘Express Yourself’ campaign, Airtel announced the first of its kind ‘Confidence Plan’ for the hearing and speech impaired. Ranjan Bharti Mittal, Joint Managing Director, Bharti Tele-Ventures and Airtel’s brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan jointly launched this initiative. The package offers a complete waiver on security deposit, monthly rental priced as low as Rs 99 with a one-time activation charge of Rs 250. On offer are 2000 Airtel to Airtel SMS free within the local network, thereafter SMS to local and national networks priced at 30 paise and for the first time ever, a non voice customer care service is set up for the hearing impaired on 121 via SMS facility to access Airtel VAS services.

In order to give more meaning to the confidence plan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranjan Bharti Mittal donated 10 handsets to hearing impaired individuals. The Confidence Plan will be available from May 24 onwards at select outlets around the country.

On the occasion, Mittal said, “The idea was to give a whole new side to the Express Yourself campaign, by taking on something special for the speech and hearing impaired. We at Bharti have always believed in using technology to make a difference to the lives of the people. The launch of the confidence plan is a part of our latest initiative to provide a mobile phone based SMS service for the hearing impaired. The thought behind this is to make communication easier for society at large.”

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan stated, “It is wonderful to see Airtel, a leader in mobile telephony to come up with the thought of making a cell phone an enabler of self expression for some very special people. The Airtel Express Yourself is about enabling and empowering and the new initiative accomplishes the same.”