Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea price hike may pinch a little, but that’s okay, Government says

financialexpress.com:

The Government of India has decided not to intervene or prevent Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) from raising mobile tariffs, according to a report.

Despite the price hike, mobile tariffs in India continue to remain among the lowest globally, prompting authorities to urge telcos to prioritise improving service quality, according to officials. They emphasised that the situation is “not critical.”

“There is enough competition in the telecom sector, and the situation is not critical. Consumers may feel some pinch of the price rise, but the hike has happened after three years,” an anonymous government official was quoted by The Economic Times as saying.

Jio and Airtel increased tariffs from July 3. Vodafone Idea (Vi) followed suit from July 4. Prices of both prepaid and postpaid plans have shot up substantially impacting millions of users nationwide. Jio’s tariff hike across various plans ranges from 12-27 percent while Airtel has announced a 10-21 per cent hike in mobile tariffs. Both Jio and Airtel have also increased the entry-barrier for subscribers to use their unlimited 5G services, making them exclusive to plans with 2GB/day data and above. Vi’s price hike meanwhile ranges from 11-24 percent.

In the case of Jio, the entry-level monthly plan, previously priced at Rs 155 for 2 GB of data over 28 days, will now cost Rs 189. The move is geared towards increasing the average revenue per user (ARPU) in a bid to further industry innovation and drive sustainable growth through investments in 5G and AI technology, Akash M Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said while announcing the price hike.

Airtel has emphasised that the ARPU needs to exceed Rs 300 to support the substantial