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<ul><li><keyword id="6354504" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="reliance-jio" source="Orion">Reliance Jio</keyword>, <keyword id="6354287" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="bharti-airtel" source="Orion">Bharti Airtel</keyword> and <keyword id="1553175" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vodafone-idea" source="Orion">Vodafone Idea</keyword> are expected to report another stable quarter with moderate revenue growth.</li><li><keyword id="6383126" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="telcos" source="Orion">Telcos</keyword> have been witnessing a slowdown in 4G subscriber additions and rising costs due to the 5G rollout.</li><li>Analysts suggest the much-expected tariff hikes will be the “key trigger” going forward.</li></ul>Slowdown in 4G subscriber additions and lack of tariff hikes in over a year could slow down revenue growth of India’s telecom companies, according to analysts. While the market leader Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jio" source="Orion">Jio</keyword> is expected to report a net addition in subscribers, its rivals Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airtel" source="Orion">Airtel</keyword> and Vodafone Idea are expected to report a decline, as per an <keyword id="46909" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="icici-securities" source="Orion">ICICI Securities</keyword> estimate. And it would have an effect on the revenues of the sector as a whole. “Our Q3FY23 estimates suggest a deceleration in mobile revenue growth across telcos due to SIM consolidation, lower benefit of premiumisation from slowdown in 4G net add, and absence of tariff hikes,” said an ICICI Securities report. Overall, analysts expect the three telcos to report earnings growth in the range of 9.4-19.7% year-on-year. Reliance Jio is expected to report the highest revenue growth at 19.7% YoY while its close rival Airtel is expected to report a 17.5% increase. Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, is expected to report revenue growth on the lower end at 9.4%, according to ICICI Securities. Overall, on a sequential basis, the revenue growth is expected to flat – in the range of 0.1-1.7% — with Vi being on the lower end once again. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Tariff hike the ‘key trigger’ going forward" comment="subhead" text="Tariff hike the ‘key trigger’ going forward">Tariff hike the ‘key trigger’ going forward</cmsannotation> Going forward however, telcos are expected to<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/bharti-airtel-and-reliance-jio-could-hike-tariffs-by-as-much-as-10-according-to-analysts/articleshow/96375427.cms"> deliver a 10% tariff hike in Q4 FY23</a>. Tariff hikes, analysts say, are “key triggers” for telecom stocks. “From an industry structure, balance sheet and cash flow viewpoint, telcos remain one of the best positioned and a defensive play to navigate through the market uncertainties, if any. Potential tariff hike is the key trigger,” said a report by Dolat Capital. Telcos have been expected to announce tariff hikes for quite some time now – the last tariff hike in the industry was in December 2021. Analysts had expected telcos to deliver a similar hike in December 2022, which never materialized. While Jefferies sees a tariff hike in Q4 FY23, analysts at IIFL Securities suggest the hike could happen only by mid-2023. “Considering large 5G investments and higher network costs on addition of 5G equipment to towers, we believe the next 4G prepaid tariff hike could probably be in mid-2023. Pushing tariff hikes closer to 2024 elections raises the risk of political backlash,” IIFL Securities noted. Despite rolling out 5G services back in October, both <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-5g-prices-may-be-affordable-for-now-but-expected-to-increase-after-wider-rollout/articleshow/94636173.cms">Airtel and Jio are offering 5G services at no added cost</a> to their subscribers. Cumulatively, the three telcos spent ₹1.5 lakh crore towards their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/heres-how-much-mobile-bills-can-increase-from-5g-network-service/articleshow/93312184.cms">spectrum purchases</a>. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Increased churn adds to lack of tariff hikes" comment="subhead" text="Increased churn adds to lack of tariff hikes">Increased churn adds to lack of tariff hikes</cmsannotation> As the timelines for possible tariff hikes are yet to emerge, the margins will remain stressed as there is one more pain point that’s added to the sector in the form of increased <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/bharti-airtel-and-reliance-jio-could-hike-tariffs-by-as-much-as-10-according-to-analysts/articleshow/96375427.cms">subscriber churn. Telecom users </a>started shopping for better plans in the last four months. According to the telecom subscriber data for October 2022 released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of MNP requests in October surged to 11.81 million – close to September’s 11.97 million, which is the highest in 2022. “The rise in MNP requests over the past five months implies increasing competition for subscribers in the market. This is also evident from the higher churn levels seen during Q2 FY23 across telcos,” said the Jefferies report. Additionally, the rollout of 5G and Jio offering unlimited high-speed data is also likely to change the competitive landscape of the sector. “Subscriber (sub) base for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea is likely to shrink while Reliance Jio’s net sub additions (+5mn) may moderate,” said a report by ICICI Securities. The scrambling for high-end 5G customers in a market that’s already saturated will make the telecom market much tougher, putting margins for the sector under pressure. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/sbi-hdfc-bank-axis-bank-among-other-private-and-public-bank-earnings-could-see-a-further-ramp-up-in-q3-2022/articleshow/96768992.cms">Bank earnings could see a further ramp up in Q3, say analysts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/skippi-ice-pops-what-this-hyderabad-popsicle-brand-is-doing-after-raising-rs-1-crore-from-shark-tank-india-season-1/articleshow/96759786.cms">Skippi Ice Pops – how the Hyderabad-based popsicle brand fared after bagging a ₹1 crore deal on Shark Tank India S1</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-wipro-and-other-it-companies-earnings-preview-for-q3-fy23/articleshow/96731891.cms">December quarter likely to be a weak one for the IT sector – Infosys amongst top analyst picks</a>

Churn and fewer 4G subscribers to slow down telecom revenue growth in Q3

<ul><li><keyword id="1553175" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-Idea">Vodafone Idea</keyword>, <keyword id="30351" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSNL">BSNL</keyword> and <keyword id="28256" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MTNL">MTNL</keyword> together account for almost 40% of mobile subscribers.</li><li>Since the arrival of Jio, <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword> Idea has lost over 100 million subscribers, with over 36 million of those leaving the network in November 2019.</li><li>If Vodafone Idea goes down, the Indian telecom sector will effectively become a duopoly with Jio and Airtel controlling a significant majority of the market.</li></ul>The Indian telecom sector has been bleeding for a while now. While mobile subscribers have been the ones who have benefited so far thanks to rock-bottom data prices and free calls, things are starting to look dire for over 450 million users of Vodafone Idea, BSNL and MTNL. On one hand, Vodafone Idea is fighting for its survival after the Supreme Court directed it to pay its AGR dues worth ₹53,000 crore. Added to that, the merged entity has not been spending on its network, leaving its customers frustrated. Those who continue to use the services are also wondering if the crisis might affect their connections. On the other hand, state-run BSNL and MTNL are facing an acute crunch of staff after more than 90,000 employees opted for the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/almost-94000-bsnl-and-mtnl-employees-apply-for-vrs-amidst-union-protest/articleshow/72234229.cms">voluntary retirement scheme</a> (VRS) offered by the Modi government. Over 450 million users stuck in a limbo According to the latest numbers released by TRAI, Vodafone Idea, BSNL and MTNL have more than 450 million wireless subscribers, accounting for almost 40% of India’s total wireless subscribers. The common theme in <a href="https://twitter.com/Shishir_SD/status/1216995242357841920">complaints</a> of subscribers of these companies is that either the network is down or that it is unreliable. While Vodafone Idea users often complain about network issues, many of them are porting out of the network in frustration. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="Shishir_SD" handlename="Shishir Tripathi" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1214972543053918209/jZcOJ3gk_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4" retweetcount="0" status="@VodafoneIN Good riddance Vodafone, ported to @JioCare . Thanks @VodafoneIN for all these years of pathetic network… https://t.co/GCNIHMcM2Z" createdat="1578989251000" id="1216995242357841920"></div>



 BSNL and MTNL users have been reporting that their connections are <a href="https://twitter.com/Suman93731828/status/1232229633304731649">either dead</a> or the speeds are too low. Some of these users are <a href="https://twitter.com/iamkumar_ajay/status/1232232324244201473">even stating</a> that their issues are a direct result of the employee responsible taking VRS. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="iamkumar_ajay" handlename="Ajay" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1208714812743540736/VNj9n3hp_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="@BSNLCorporate Broadband Bill paid online 4 days back. BSNL is saying bill pending. Office people are not helping.… https://t.co/2cxVMO2EtB" createdat="1582622054000" id="1232232324244201473"></div>



 Vodafone Idea is hemorrhaging subscribers Since the arrival of Jio, Vodafone Idea has lost almost 100 million users. Over <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/panicking-vodafone-idea-users-are-porting-to-airtel-and-reliance-jio-but-that-might-not-be-the-solution-theyre-looking-for/articleshow/73425737.cms">36 million</a> of these users were lost in November 2019. But more recently, the company has stopped competing with Jio and Airtel when it comes to new features. While Jio and Airtel have been offering services like eSIM and VoWiFi for a while now, Vodafone Idea hasn’t even talked about it. While eSIM or VoWiFi are not essential features, their absence on Vodafone’s network suggests that it has more important issues to deal with right now. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">Latest numbers</a> released by <a href="https://main.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.09of2020_0.pdf">TRAI</a> reveal that Vodafone is hemorrhaging, losing over 36 million subscribers in November 2019. VRS is adversely affecting BSNL and MTNL customers The mass exodus of employees at BSNL and MTNL has severely affected users of landline as well as wireless subscribers. The acute staff crunch has meant that customer complaints of landlines going dead or the wireless internet speeds being very low are not being addressed appropriately. There could be only two choices left in the market, and that’s not a good thing With the future of Vodafone Idea, BSNL and MTNL hanging in the balance, there are only two choices left in the market – Jio and Airtel. If Vodafone Idea <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/vodafone-writes-off-book-value-of-indian-operation-ceo-flags-liquidation-risk/articleshow/72031766.cms">goes out of business</a>, Jio and Airtel will end up controlling a significant majority of the market, allowing them to raise prices without any repercussions. While Jio has offered affordable plans so far, a duopoly effectively gives it the freedom to raise prices in the future. Airtel’s services, on the other hand, are already costlier than Jio’s. Most recently, Jio <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/reliance-jio-may-still-have-the-cheapest-plan-on-offer-as-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-have-a-lead-on-telecom-tariffs/articleshow/72335722.cms">announced</a> a price hike of up to 40% after its rivals Airtel and Vodafone Idea increased prices. Since then, the company has also reduced the validity of its annual plans by up to 8%, which forces users to recharge for an extra month now. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-disagrees-with-airtel-vodafone-on-everything-except-tariffs-and-transparency/articleshow/74221520.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s Jio disagrees with Airtel, Vodafone on everything except tariffs and transparency</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio becomes the largest telco by revenue and subscribers - as industry shows signs of recovery</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/panicking-vodafone-idea-users-are-porting-to-airtel-and-reliance-jio-but-that-might-not-be-the-solution-theyre-looking-for/articleshow/73425737.cms">Panicking Vodafone-Idea users are porting to Airtel and Reliance Jio — but that might not be the solution they're looking for</a>

Over 450 million users stuck in a limbo as Vodafone Idea, BSNL and MTNL fight to survive

<keyword id="50781" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-number-portability">Mobile number portability</keyword>, which lets users change their service providers without changing their numbers, has clearly favored Idea Cellular the most. Idea has managed to pull almost as many subscribers as the combined number of Vodafone and Airtel. 
 
As per the Kotak Institutional Equities report, ever since MNP started in January 2011, Idea has gained 17 million users on a net basis, in comparison to 11.1 million for Vodafone and 7.3 million for Airtel. 
 
Talking of the biggest losers, Reliance Communications lost a net 10.8 million subscribers, while Aircel lost 6.6 million and Tata Teleservices lost 6.4 million subscribers, thanks to the tough competition. 
 The competition between the service providers is expected to intensify when <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> launches 4G services. 
 
Another major reason for porting within the top providers are the differences in their hi-speed 3G or 4G data networks. 
 
<a href="http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&amp;d=20150428&amp;t=2&amp;i=1044010980&amp;w=644&amp;fh=&amp;fw=&amp;ll=&amp;pl=&amp;sq=&amp;r=LYNXMPEB3R0HS">Image source</a>

Mobile number portability benefited Idea the most; 17 million users added in 5 years

Mobile number portability (MNP) is a very useful arrangement available to all mobile network users. This facility lets you transfer your existing mobile network provider to some other provider while using the same mobile number. Here we discuss a few easy steps to port your mobile number from <keyword id="15492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone" source="Orion">Vodafone</keyword> (Vi) to Airtel. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How to port Vodafone to Airtel?" comment="How to port Vodafone to Airtel?" text="How to port Vodafone to Airtel?">How to port Vodafone to Airtel?</cmsannotation> You can port your existing Vodafone (Vi) mobile number to Airtel with these simple steps using the MNP service. You need to first generate the Unique Porting Code (UPC) to initiate the porting process in these following steps. Open the messages app on your mobile phone. Send a message to 1900 typing in ‘PORT’ followed by a space and then your 10-digit Vodafone mobile number. In some time, you will receive an SMS from Vodafone containing your UPC. Note the porting code thus received and then visit a nearby Airtel store. The customer support executives at the store will help you complete the mobile number porting process from Vodafone to Airtel. You will have to produce the porting code, a valid address and identity proof. Upon verifying these documents, the executives will ask you to choose a new Airtel network plan and pay for it. Once you make the payment, you will get a new Airtel SIM card. Depending on your location, it can take anywhere from 48 hours to a few days to port your number. Once the porting process is complete, your Vodafone network will disconnect automatically and your Vodafone SIM will not work anymore. Once this happens, you will have to insert the new Airtel SIM you received and call 59059 to confirm the tele-verification number you received on the alternative number you had given during the porting process. Upon entering the tele-verification code successfully, you will get a welcome message from Airtel and you can start using the Airtel network on the same number.

How to port Vodafone idea to Airtel

For many reasons we may want to port our existing mobile number to some other provider. Here we discuss the easy steps to port your mobile number from <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel" source="Orion">Airtel</keyword> to <keyword id="15492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone" source="Orion">Vodafone</keyword> (<keyword id="176019" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="VI" source="Orion">Vi</keyword>). Porting your mobile number from Airtel to Vi can be done in easy steps. Vi provides a dedicated webpage for the purpose of porting mobile numbers. You will need to request for a new prepaid <keyword id="6427652" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sim" source="Orion">SIM</keyword> from Vi and then switch your network from Airtel to Vodafone (Vi). <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How to port Airtel to Vodafone (Vi)" comment="subhead" text="How to port Airtel to Vodafone (Vi)">How to port Airtel to Vodafone (Vi)</cmsannotation> Visit the Vi MNP dedicated webpage. The page will display an easy to fill in form on which you need to enter your mobile number and pincode. Select between prepaid or postpaid plans. Click on the ‘complete the order’ button. The next page will ask you the address in which you want the new SIM to be delivered. Fill in the address and then click on the ‘proceed’ button. The next page will ask you to make the payment for the selected plan. Input the details asked for and then click on the ‘pay’ button on the right side. Choose the payment gateway you want to use and complete the payment process. After making the payment, a confirmation screen will show up. A Vodafone (Vi) executive will visit you on the address given to deliver the new Vodafone (Vi) SIM card. From your mobile, you need to send an SMS message to 1900 typing in ‘PORT” followed by the 10-digit mobile number. You need to give the porting code received to the Vi executive. You will be asked to produce your address and identity proof. The executive will use all this information to complete the porting process. It will take around 48 hours to a few days for the new <keyword id="1230831" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel-SIM" source="Orion">Airtel SIM</keyword> to get activated. Once the new SIM is activated, you can start using your existing mobile number on the Vi network.

How to port your Airtel number to Vodafone Idea

India’s telecom regulator <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> called upon incumbent telecom operators, <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Idea, Vodafone along with new entrant <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> for a meeting after days of infighting. The telecom industry body <keyword id="6373028" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="COAI">COAI</keyword> was the main front for the incumbent telecom operators in the whole fight but was not invited for the meeting with the regulator. The telecom industry body accused the TRAI of siding with Jio, “COAI has been kept out of the TRAI meeting at the insistence of RIL Jio, and TRAI acquiesced to their demand in an unprecedented manner”, said COAI. Its not the first time the COAI has accused the TRAI of working in interest of <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> owned Reliance Jio, earlier the COAI had written to the PMO saying that many of the policy changes TRAI is looking at will eventually benefit Jio. The telcos were clashing mainly on the issue of ‘point of interconnect’ which essentially help operators to connect calls from one operator’s network to other. Even after the launch of Reliance Jio services, this matter remains unresolved. In the days leading to the announcement of Jio services, the telecom industry saw one of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Telcos-vs-Reliance-Jio-over-Jio-4G-launch-and-free-trial-test/articleshow/53875879.cms">biggest slugfest between the incumbent telecom operators and Reliance Jio</a> mainly on Jio’s long running free test trial and points of interconnection. Finally the TRAI decided to call the telcos in (albeit leaving out COAI) and hear both sides of the story to try and end the never ending tussle. 
 Telcos likely to have raised many issues to the TRAI around Reliance Jio’s entry in the market. Reliance Jio services were launched on the 5th of September after a pretty long test period that started from December 2015. While Jio has filed its tariff with the TRAI, Jio will continue to provide services for free under its “Welcome Offer” till the end of December 2016. It looks like the Jio telcos do not buy Jio’s welcome offer as Reliance Jio and the incumbent operators have been majorly sparring over points of interconnection and <keyword id="108664" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MNP">MNP</keyword>. 
 
COAI had written to the telecom regulator to be included in the meeting but did not get any response from the regulator and the meeting took place with Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Rel Jio.

Telecom industry body blames regulator TRAI yet again for siding with Reliance Jio

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and other telecom operators will change to full <keyword id="50781" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-number-portability">Mobile Number Portability</keyword> (MNP) today, making One Nation, One Number a reality. 
 
This move will benefit millions of mobilephone subscribers as people relocating to different cities and moving out of home circles will not have to change their numbers. 
 
Although MNP has been available within circles since 2011, this is the first time it will be possible across the country, which is divided into 22 telecom service areas or circles. 
 
"It has been a very complex exercise with 500,000 towers and switches, two MNP providers and mobile operators, but we're ready now," Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, which groups India's GSM carriers, told Economic Times. 
However, companies may lose from lower roaming charges. 
 "In a digital economy, <keyword id="1882982" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="full-MNP">full MNP</keyword> is a step towards no borders for voice, but operators could stand to lose about 1% of the industry revenue coming from roaming," Prashant Singhal, telecoms practice leader at consulting firm EY, told the financial daily. 
 
He added that in absolute terms, the revenue loss could be between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore. 
 
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data reads that with about three million intra-circle MNP requests every month, more than 157 million subscribers have ported to other operators as of April. For MNP, subscribers can message to 1900 seeking change to another service provider and ay Rs 19 for the same. 
 
Service providers have started offering seamless porting services and plans to attract customers. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

From today, no need to change mobile number if you are relocating to a different city

Telcos are up for a huge financial crisis pretty soon. Telecom operators owe the government Rs 54,828.25 crore in licence fee, spectrum charges and arrears, of which Rs 44,380.91 crore is under litigation, Parliament was informed today. The outstanding dues also include electro magnetic radiation penalty, CAF fine and MNP testing fee arrears. 
 “Out of the total outstanding of Rs 54,828.25 crore, the amount under litigation is Rs 44,380.91 crore pertaining to major telecom service providers,” Telecom Minister <keyword id="8748" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ravi-Shankar">Ravi Shankar</keyword> Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. 

	 
	He added that cases pending in various courts are closely monitored and suitable actions are being taken in consultations with senior law officers from time to time.
 Total outstanding dues against <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> are Rs 11,235.50 crore, followed by state-run BSNL Rs 9,936.26 crore, Vodafone 9,206.03 crore, <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> 5,435.41 crore, <keyword id="46907" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword> Rs 6,355.43 crore and Reliance Telecom Rs 494.04 crore. Also, <keyword id="6359475" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tata-Teleservices">Tata Teleservices</keyword> owes Rs 3,472.52 crore and MTNL Rs 4,091.31 crore. 
	 
	(Image credits: indiatimes)

Bharti Airtel owes the government Rs. 11,235.50 crore, telcos owe the government Rs. 54,828.25 crore

<ul><li>Telecom providers Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="airtel" source="Orion">Airtel</keyword> and Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jio" source="Orion">Jio</keyword> could hike tariffs by as much as 10%, according to analysts at <keyword id="151304" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jefferies" source="Orion">Jefferies</keyword>. </li><li>Most of the benefits of the last tariff hike have also been realized by Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea already, and their recent ARPU gains have been benign, gaining between 0.8-4%. </li><li>The overall active subscriber base has also stagnated at 1.01 billion even as subscriber churn has increased, implying increased competition in the sector. </li></ul>Mobile bills could go up soon as telcos are expected to hike tariffs by as much as 10%, according to analysts at Jefferies. In its latest report, the brokerage says that Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are expected to announce 10% <keyword id="891186" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tariff-hikes" source="Orion">tariff hikes</keyword> in Q4 of FY23, FY24, and FY25. Most of the benefits of the last tariff hike have already flown to the telcos and their revenue and margins are increasingly under pressure. This necessitates a tariff hike by telcos, analysts say. For the September quarter, Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio reported moderate gains in average revenue per user (ARPU), a key metric to measure a telecom company’s performance. While Jio’s ARPU <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-reports-4-profit-growth-in-q2-subscriber-addition-arpu-growth-slows-down/articleshow/95017181.cms">increased 0.8%</a> sequentially, Vodafone Idea <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-ideas-q2-loss-widens-to-7596-crore/articleshow/95282354.cms">reported</a> a 1% increase. Airtel, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/bharti-airtel-reports-89-yoy-increase-in-q2-net-profit-to-2145-crore/articleshow/95207348.cms">reported</a> a 4% increase due to premiumisation. Earlier this year, Airtel started testing the waters of tariff hikes by withdrawing the ₹99 pack in select circles. Analysts at Jefferies believe tariff hike strategy fits perfectly with the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/5g-rollout-to-give-business-a-fillip-says-airtel-ceo-gopal-vittal/articleshow/95230944.cms"> telco’s rural expansion plans</a>, which is likely to hurt margins further. Airtel’s EBITDA margin in Q2 fell to 36.9% from 43.7% in Q1. The company’s CEO Gopal Vittal had earlier in November said over 40% of industry 4G net additions were coming from rural areas and he believed “the time is right to bridge a substantial part of the coverage gap in mobile against the leading player in the industry.” Keeping these factors in mind, analysts at Jefferies have maintained their tariff hike outlook. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Subscriber churn rises as subscribers shop for better plans" comment="subhead" text="Subscriber churn rises as subscribers shop for better plans">Subscriber churn rises as subscribers shop for better plans</cmsannotation> Analysts at Jefferies also said that an increase in subscriber churn and mobile number portability (MNP) requests pointed to increasing competition in the Indian telecom sector. Subscriber churn refers to the rate at which subscribers stop paying for services to the company. This has the adverse effect of dragging the margins down. “The rise in MNP requests over the past five months implies increasing competition for subscribers in the market. This is also evident from the higher churn levels seen during Q2 FY23 across telcos,” said the Jefferies report. According to the telecom subscriber data for October 2022 released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio and Airtel together added 2.2 million new subscribers. On the other hand, Vodafone Idea’s struggles continued, with its subscriber count declining by 3.5 million. At the same time, the number of MNP requests in October surged to 11.81 million – close to September’s 11.97 million, which is the highest in 2022 – even as the total number of active subscribers remained stagnant at 1.01 billion. In their Q2 FY23 earnings, telcos Airtel and Vodafone Idea reported an increase in subscriber churn, while their rival Jio witnessed a decline. While Airtel’s subscriber churn stood at 3.3% in Q2 FY23, Vodafone Idea reported a significantly higher churn at 4.3%. On the other hand, Jio reported a churn of just 2%. Overall, the telecom industry’s subscriber churn increased to 3% in Q2 FY23 from 2.7% in Q1. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-to-pause-rate-hikes-in-2023-peak-rate-at-6-25-to-6-5-percent-says-kotak-institutional-equities/articleshow/96371881.cms">RBI to pause rate hikes for most of 2023, hold peak policy rate at 6.25-6.5%: Kotak Institutional Equities</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/average-debt-cost-for-top-eight-listed-realty-players-lowest-since-pandemic-says-anarock/articleshow/96345107.cms">Average debt cost for top eight listed realty players lowest since pandemic, says Anarock</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/private-equity-investments-in-indias-real-estate-sector-witnessed-a-17-decline-in-2022/articleshow/96338847.cms">PE investments in real estate decline 17% in 2022 due to inflation, rising interest rates – Knight Frank India</a>

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio expected to hike tariffs by 10%, says Jefferies

New Delhi, The telecom industry lost around 56.11 lakh wireless subscribers in May amid the lockdown, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data reveals. The overall telecom subscriber base for wireless connections stood at over 114.39 crore in May, compared to 114.95 crore in April. Although there was an overall erosion of subscriber base, Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> continued to lead the subscription race and added over 36.57 <keyword id="9639568" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="lakh-subscribers">lakh subscribers</keyword> during the month under review taking its total tally to 39.27 crore users. Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea continued to lose subscribers. Airtel lost over 47.42 lakh subscribers and Vodafone Idea lost 47.26 lakh users taking their respective subscriber base to 31.78 crore and over 30.99 crore, showed the TRAI data on Wednesday. State-run <keyword id="30351" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSNL">BSNL</keyword> added over 2.01 <keyword id="9827423" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="lakh-new">lakh new</keyword> connections taking its subscriber base to over 11.99 crore. The data showed that in May 29.8 lakh subscribers submitted their requests for mobile number portability (MNP). "With this, the cumulative MNP requests increased from 488.23 million at the end of April 2020 to 491.21 million at the end of May 2020, since implementation of MNP," the TRAI statement said. See Also - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-phase-ii-trials-will-begin-in-india-today/articleshow/77757085.cms">Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Phase II trials will begin in India today</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/how-to-download-neet-2020-admit-card/articleshow/77756977.cms">How to download NEET 2020 admit card</a>

Jio adds 36.75 lakh, while Airtel lost 47.72 lakh subscribers in May

New Delhi, Nov 15 () Reliance Jio on Friday said that delaying the implementation of zero call connect charges beyond January 2020 will hurt affordability of telecom services in a sector where users have benefited from free voice calls.
 Reliance Jio Director Mahendra Nahata said that the ratio of incoming and outgoing call is now at par with each other and traffic asymmetry can, therefore, no longer be the reason to delay implementation of Bill and Keep (BAK) regime (that is zero mobile termination charge from January 1, 2020).
 Traffic symmetry indicates that telecom operator will not have any outstanding balance of interconnect usage charges (IUC) against other networks.
 Speaking at Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) open house on IUC issue, Nahata said Airtel had expanded 4G network and Vodafone Idea too is talking about expanding their 4G network.
 "We are not considering any profit or loss, but opposing it on the basis of principle. Criticising the decision of government or regulatory authorities from a distant location is beyond our understanding. Therefore, please take a decision after due diligence on all the points that we have raised," he said.
 Nahata questioned data being shown by telecom operators and alleged that the subscriber traffic is being diverted to 2G, 3G network to show cost of voice is high.
 Nahata said that in case Trai does not favour implementation of BAK regime from January 2020 then at least interconnect usage charges currently at 6 paise should be brought down.
 "When you had implemented 6 paise charge, 4G traffic was one per cent. Today that traffic is much higher so the costs must have come down," he said.
 A Vodafone Idea official said that consumers today have the option of moving to other networks through mobile number portability (MNP).
 "Today customers have option of MNP and they can move to other network. It is wrong to say that any operator is holding back customers on 2G network," the official said, demanding that the mobile call termination charges should continue.
 Airtel said that IUC should not come down to zero and the BAK regime should be postponed by at least three years.
 Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel's Chief Regulatory Officer Ravi Gandhi rejected allegations of data fudging terming them as "misplaced" and said that people at times used the company's SIM into second slot of mobile phone which generally supports 2G or 3G network.
 He said there are 40 crore consumers are on 2G network and they use low-cost feature phones. Shutting down 2G network will mean depriving such consumers of telecom services. PRS MBI MSS ANS
ANS

Delay in implementation of zero call connect charges to hurt service affordability: Jio

After <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> and Idea, <keyword id="6354923" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-India">Vodafone India</keyword> is the latest incumbent operator to agree to increase the points of interconnect (PoIs) with <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> Infocomm. <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword> India said that the company is willing to increase the PoIs to <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> to three times of what it is providing at present. Vodafone said "Following guidance from <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> and clarifications from Jio regarding its commercial launch, Vodafone India has decided to increase the Points of Interconnect (POIs) between the two operators by thrice and accordingly increase the capacity to connect," the company said in the statement. 
 
While Reliance Jio welcomes Vodafone’s move for increasing the interconnection capacity it believes that the quantum of POIs proposed to be released by Vodafone is substantially less than the requirement. Jio said, “the situation has deteriorated significantly in the last few weeks, with over 80calls failing out of every 100 call attempts. In the last 10 days alone, over 15 crore RJIL calls have failed on the Vodafone network.” 
 
Reliance Jio has been raising the issue of insufficient POIs even before its launch calling it anti-competitive and aimed at hindering the entry of a new operator. Jio said, “It is unfortunate that TRAI’s intervention was required for Vodafone to resume augmentation of POIs as admitted in its press release. Vodafone ought to have augmented POIs by itself in compliance with its license terms.” The company said in its statement. 
 The telecom regulator TRAI had to intervene on the issue of PoIs as it continued even after Reliance Jio services were commercially launched. TRAI called in on the four main telecom operators <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance Jio to once and for all sort out the issue of PoIs as it was impacting the consumers where they were facing call failures due to lack of points of interconnect required to complete calls originating from one network to another. Soon after the meet with the TRAI, Bharti Airtel agreed to increase PoI to Jio so that the company can service up to 15million customers and with Idea’s PoI bump Jio will be able to service 6 million subscribers. 
 
Reliance Jio in its statement also talked about the issue of mobile number portability (MNP) another key issue it faces as a new operator. “RJIL hopes that Vodafone will enhance the PoI's sufficiently to meet their license obligation of QoS with immediate effect and maintain these parameters on an ongoing basis. Vodafone must also immediately make available MNP to all its subscribers opting to port to RJIL in accordance with the license terms and MNP regulations.” 
 
Well it’s still unclear whether the telecom operators have finally found a common ground on the issue of PoIs. But importantly, it looks like Jio subscribers can finally hope to enjoy the free voice services from Reliance Jio (hopefully) without any call failures.

Still no common ground for the warring incumbent telcos and Reliance Jio

There is <keyword id="3522120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mukesh-ambani-led-reliance-jio">Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio</keyword> on one side and other incumbent telecom players on the other. The moment <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> was launched, it was quite evident it will trigger a war of pricing, interconnections between the two sides. 
 Ambani had even nudged the top telecom players to provide <keyword id="3809800" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="points-of-interconnection">Points of Interconnection</keyword> (POIs) but the latter said they were not obliged to do so. 
 
The issue is still not resolved between the two sides and Reliance Jio has just taken the competition higher only. 
 In an interview to ET, <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> Chairman Sunil Mittal said ‘bring it on’. 
 
Mittal said the issues pertaining to PoIs and Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be sorted out in next few weeks. 
 
"We are a product of competition. There was AT&amp;T, Hutchinson was here, Etisalat came, Telenor, we are fighting with Idea and Vodafone on a daily basis. So the best and the brightest have been here and so we must have done something right," Mittal told ET. 
 But, the POIs issue is not defusing and even the <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> is involved in it. Mittal said everything should be sorted through dialogue. 
 
"With every passing week things will get better on the Point issue. We all agree that the PoI issue needs to stop and it will cease in a few weeks. There needs to be a dialogue between all companies to correct the issues," Mittal told ET. 
 
When Ambani announced free voice calls for lifetime, shares of Airtel and Idea had tanked. But, Mittal was not surprised. 
 
Mittal said going forward, voice business will decline and data will be the growth driver, which is why bundled tariff plans would be the norm for the industry with protecting average revenue per user (ARPU) the main focus. 
 
"The tariffs announced (by Jio) are ARPU protected," he said. 
 
Now, after the Jio launch, a lot of buzz is around upcoming mega spectrum sale. 
 
"The government has itself acknowledged that there was indeed a scarcity of spectrum in saying that after this auction operators shouldn't complain about scarcity of bandwidth. We would like to thank the government for releasing so much bandwidth. However, I still maintain that the price of 700 Mhz is still very high," he added.

You Searched For "MNP idea" and got 13 results

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Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio expected to hike tariffs by 10%, says Jefferies

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Delay in implementation of zero call connect charges to hurt service affordability: Jio

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