Here’s how your phone bills will increase if Jio and Vodafone Idea get their way

• Reliance Jio proposed to increase prices to ₹20 per GB, while Vodafone Idea wants it to be ₹35 per GB.
• Overall, consumers should expect their phone bills to go through the roof if these new prices are ratified by TRAI.
• Airtel, which is currently in the third position in terms of subscribers, has not revealed or proposed any tariff hikes yet.

Mukesh Ambani-led Jio, and Vodafone Idea have proposed massive hikes in data prices, signaling an end to the era of discounted prices. While the price hikes might help stabilize the distressed telecom industry, consumers could end up with a massive increase in their phone bills.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) floated a consultation paper to discuss “Tariff issues in Telecom services”, inviting telecom companies and other stakeholders to submit their comments on the matter.

Earlier last month, Vodafone Idea proposed an increase in data prices to ₹35 per GB, which is a ten-fold increase from its current prices.

Now, industry leader Reliance Jio has also proposed an increase in data prices to ₹20 per GB, which is an increase of almost five times when compared to its current prices.

Get ready for massive bill shocks

The days of cheap data and voice calling could soon be gone if Jio and Vodafone Idea have their way with TRAI. If you have grown accustomed to cheap high-speed data, you might have to forget it and dial back to the time when mobile services were comparatively expensive.

One of the reasons behind Jio teaming up with its rivals Vodafone Idea and Airtel to increase prices is Jio has achieved its objective of becoming the market leader. It is virtually a three-horse race in the Indian telecom industry, although the state-run BSNL and MTNL are still around.

Here’s how much more Jio subscribers will have to pay

To give you a better idea about how Jio’s proposed price increase might affect you, here’s a quick comparison between the existing per GB prices and proposed prices.

Price increase per GB


Similarly, here is a comparison of the present cost per day with the estimated cost per day, if Jio goes through with its plan to charge ₹20 per GB data.

Price increase per day


Here’s how much more Vodafone Idea subscribers will have to pay

Vodafone Idea’s prices could be more than twice higher when compared to Jio’s proposed prices. In addition to this, Vodafone Idea has also proposed to charge a monthly connection fee of ₹50, which would result in an annual increase of ₹600.

Price increase per GB


Price increase per day


See also:

Mukesh Ambani’s Jio wants to increase data prices to ₹20 per GB

Vodafone Idea wants to increase data prices by 10 times - to cover its spectrum dues

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio becomes the largest telco by revenue and subscribers - as industry shows signs of recovery