Airtel, Jio, Vodafone Idea Likely To Increase Prepaid Tariffs Again: Report

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are set to increase their prepaid tariffs by Diwali 2022.

Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea are looking to increase prepaid tariffs by around 10 per cent. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are set to increase their prepaid tariffs by Diwali 2022, according to a report. If this happens, it would be the second prepaid tariff hike by mobile operators within a year — the three private telcos of India had earlier hiked the prices of their prepaid plans in November 2021.

Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea are looking to increase prepaid tariffs by around 10 per cent, an ET Telecom report said, citing Mayuresh Joshi, Head of Equity Research at the Indian unit of US equity research firm, William O’ Neil & Co. According to the report, Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea are planning to bring a 10-12 per cent hike in their prepaid plans, thus, boosting the ARPU (average revenue per user) to Rs 200, Rs 185 and Rs 135, respectively.

Even as the three telecom operators increased the prices of their prepaid plans earlier in November-December that did not translate into a loss in the active users in the March quarter of 2022, including for Vodafone Idea. This highlights that the Indian market is ready to take another price hike. It should be noted that telecom plan prices are still among the lowest globally. According to the analysts, Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea are likely to add around 40 million or 4 crore new subscribers by the end of FY 2023.

The new mobile subscriptions will be driven by the rural consumers in the country where the tele-density is currently under 58 per cent as compared to the tele-density of more than 130 per cent in urban areas. As far as the telecom operators are concerned, Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-led Jio may get the bulk of new subscribers while Vodafone Idea will have to settle with modest gains.