Telecom tariff hike: Govt, regulator won't intervene in matter
«There is enough competition in the telecom sector and the situation is not critical that requires intervention of the authorities. Consumers may feel some pinch of the price rise, but the hike has happened after three years,» one of the officials told ET, asking not to be named.
India's three private telcoraised mobile tariffs by 11-25%, with the changes taking effect this week. As per analysts, this would increase the spending on telecom services in urban India to 2.8% of household expenditures in fiscal 2025 from 2.7% in FY24.
Bid to Raise ARPU
For rural households, it would go up to 4.7% from 4.5%. Officials and analysts termed this increase as «moderate».
Tariff hikes could help telcos see through 5G, infra spends...
The telcos increased the rates in a bid to raise their average revenue per user (ARPU). They had paid top dollars for buying expensive 5G spectrum, but so far there has been little monetisation.
«The analysis shows that the 13% (average) increase in tariff is moderate, and unlikely to have much of an impact on household expenditure. It also shows that even Jio's higher increase in tariffs and 5G monetisation are likely to be well absorbed by consumers,» Axis Capital said in a note.
After the companies last week announced the price hikes, their first since November 2021, the employee union at state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) complained to telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia that this would result in the common man being fleeced by the private telcos. While
