Indians are anticipated to shell out an additional ₹47,500 crore annually for data plans following recent tariff hikes by the country’s top three telecom operators, Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone, a Kotak Institutional Equities research note revealed.
The tariff revisions, implemented over a span of two days, aim to monetise new 5G services and mark an end to the prolonged price competition among telecom giants since 2016.
Reliance Jio has increased prices by 13% to 27%, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have raised tariffs by 10% to 21% and around 10% to 23%, respectively.
Under the new pricing structure, Jio customers opting for a 5G data plan now face a minimum charge of ₹349 for a daily 2GB pack, up from ₹239 previously for 1.5GB per day.
Similarly, Airtel subscribers looking for 5G connectivity must now opt for a ₹409 plan offering 2.5GB daily, compared to the earlier ₹239 plan with 1.5GB daily data.
Bharti Airtel’s MD Gopal Vittal and Vodafone Idea’s CEO Akshaya Moondra pointed out the need for aligning India’s telecom pricing with global standards, where users pay more based on data usage. Previously, Indian users paid a flat rate on average, irrespective of consumption.
The price wars in India’s telecom sector began when Jio attracted subscribers with low-cost services, prompting competitors like Airtel and Vodafone to follow suit to retain their customer base.
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