The Centre will not prevent Indian telcos from increasing tariffs for mobile services as the country has one of the lowest charges globally, according to a report, citing officials.
This comes after Jio and Bharti Airtel raised the tariffs of prepaid and postpaid plans on July 3, followed by Vodafone Idea on July 4. The government wants the telecom operators to focus on improving quality of the services they provide, The Economic Times quoted officials as saying.
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Pointing out that there is enough competition in the telecom industry and that it is not a critical situation requiring intervention of the authorities, an official told the newspaper, "Consumers may feel some pinch of the price rise, but the hike has happened after three years."
A senior Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official told ET that the telecom operators are free to revise tariffs but they to provide good quality of services.
The latest tariff hike by Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea is the first major revision of rates in the sector in two-and-a-half years, with the previous one being in December 2021. Jio was the first to declare a 12-27 per cent hike on June 27. Following this, Airtel announced a hike of around 11 per cent.
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Jio's 1GB daily data add-on has increased from Rs 15 to Rs 19 while its 75 GB postpaid data plan saw a surge from Rs 399 to Rs 449. The user-favourite Rs 666 unlimited plan offering 84-day validity now costs Rs 799 while the annual plans saw a leap from Rs 1,559 to Rs 1,899 and from Rs 2,999 to Rs 3,599.
Airtel's 1 GB daily data add-on has been increased by Rs 3, up from Rs 19 to Rs 22, while its 365-day validity plan with 2GB per day zoomed by Rs 600 from Rs 2,999 to Rs 3,599. The unlimited voice plan offering 28-day validity with 2GB data will soar from Rs 179 to Rs 199.
Vodafone Idea's lowest plan with a minimum recharge value of 28-day validity has increased from Rs 179 to Rs 199. Its popular 84-day validity plan offering 1.5 GB data per day has climbed from Rs 719 to Rs 859.
The price of the annual unlimited plan has also seen a jump from Rs 2,899 to Rs 3,499. However, its 365 validity plan with a 24 GB data limit, which costs Rs 1,799, has not been revised.