Bharti Airtel, Vodafone to hike tariffs from December 1

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Bharti Airtel, Vodafone to hike tariffs from December 1
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone to hike tariffs from December 1

New Delhi : Months after Reliance Jio started charging its customers for calls to different operators, it has been learned that Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) will also be hiking their tariffs from December 1.

This will be the first time since 2016 when the telecom operators will be changing their tariffs in the upward direction. In 2006, Reliance Jio had entered the market creating a tough competing space for the already working telecom operators, forcing them to drop their charges by over 50% to retain the customers.

No official word has come from either of the telecoms over how much change will be seen in the tariffs or if there will be any change in the validity of the plans.

Currently, data rates for consumers at an average of Rs 8 per GB is the lowest in the world. The average revenue per user per month has declined from Rs 174 in FY15 to Rs 113 in FY19. A subscriber on an average uses 10 GB of data and 700 minutes of mobile talk time per month.

The tariff hike comes at a time when the TRAI has ordered to impose a minimum charge for voice and data to maintain the financial health of the telecom sector.

In a statement, Bharti Airtel said: "We understand that Trai is likely to initiate a consultation for bringing rationality in pricing in the Indian mobile sector, which has been operating at prices that have been eroding the viability of the sector".

"To ensure that its customers continue to enjoy world class digital experiences, Vodafone Idea will suitably increase the prices of its tariffs effective December 1, 2019," VIL said in a statement. Bharti, however, hinted that it would continue to provide "affordable" tariffs to consumers.