Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel have decided to increase tariffs in India from December 1. This decision comes as the two telecom operators posted record quarterly losses of Rs 50,921 million and Rs 28,450 million, respectively. Now, the two telecom operators are under tremendous pressure and, with the imposed fees, it seems they have played their last card.
According to a report, industry experts estimate an increase of at least 35-40% in the prices of Vodafone-Idea and Airtel's prepaid and post-paid rate plans. So far, both companies have aggressively competed with Reliance Jio, which is on the verge of reaching 500 million subscribers.
Vodafone-Idea & Airtel's price hike could cause subscribers to jump from ship to ship
Neither Airtel nor Vodafone-Idea have yet presented their new pricing plans. However, we expect to receive more details by the end of November 2019. That said, the two companies raised the prices of their postpaid plans in July, and Airtel terminated some of their existing rate plans.
In particular, the most affordable rate plans start at Rs 23 and Rs 24 respectively for Airtel and Vodafone-Idea.
Vodafone Idea issued a statement stating that "in order for its customers to continue to benefit from world-class digital experiences, Vodafone Idea will increase its prices appropriately as of December 1, 2019."
Airtel said: "The telecommunications sector is a capital-intensive business with rapidly changing technology cycles requiring ongoing investment, so it is critical that the industry remains viable to support Digital India's vision. Airtel will scale up. correctly the price offers in the month of December ".
With the new packages, Airtel and Vodafone may lose subscriber numbers while Jio continues with its aggressive pricing plans and offers. Since Jio entered the Indian telecom space, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea (then Vodafone) have lowered the prices of their communication and data transmission plans to better match Jio's rates. However, companies are now facing a severe financial crisis with increased losses and licensing fees.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea have endeavored to introduce revised rate plans in the telecommunications sector in India. It also opens the doors to subscribers who might move to Reliance Jio.