Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are reportedly planning on increasing prices again

• Indian telecom companies are reportedly looking to increase prices of plans.
• Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are reportedly planning on increasing prices by around 10%.
• The companies are looking to increase the prices by Diwali.

Indian telecom companies Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea are reportedly planning on increasing prices once again. The telcos had earlier hiked the prices by up to 25% in November 2021.

According to an Economic Times report, the telcos are planning on increasing prices by around 10 to 12%, which will take the average revenue per user (ARPU) up by around 10%.

The report cites analyst Mayuresh Joshi, head of equity research at William O’ Neil & Co, who expects the telcos to increase their prices by Diwali this year.

Despite the increased prices, the telcos are expected to add around 40 million new users by the end of FY 2023. The telcos faced minimal issues despite increasing tariffs by nearly 25% in November 2021 and this has paved the way for another tariff hike.

According to the analysts, the new subscriptions will be fueled by the rural markets where the tele-density is currently around 60%. Among the telcos, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio and Sunil Mittal-led Airtel are expected to attract the bulk of new subscribers, while Vodafone Idea enjoys modest gains.

The increased prices will push Airtel’s ARPU to around INR 200. Jio and Vodafone’s Idea’s ARPU is expected to increase to INR 185 and INR 135 respectively.

Airtel’s chief Gopal Vittal recently said that the company will announce a tariff hike in 2022 to increase its ARPU to INR 200. The company intends to take its ARPU to INR 300, which Vittal claims will happen over a period of time.

This indicates that the telco intends to announce multiple tariff hikes in the near future. This also means that soon users might be forced to pay two times the prices that they were paying before November 2021.

SEE ALSO:

Reliance Jio reports its strongest profit growth in five quarters as it offloads millions of low quality subscribers

Indian government's VPN guidelines will impact over 270 million users as VPN providers have no option but to leave the country

Reliance Jio vs Bharti Airtel — four charts that showcase how the Indian telecom giants faired in 2022