Airtel says that the mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) needs to be upwards of Rs 300 to enable a financially healthy business model for Telcos in India…reports Asian Lite News
Airtel has announced a price hike across all its pre-paid and post-paid. The change in tariff plans will go into effect from July 3rd across all circles and throughout India. The most affordable plan of Airtel will now cost Rs 199 for a validity of 28 days, with 2GB data, unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day free, earlier its cost was Rs 179.
It is important to note that the telecom provider has raised rates of all plans but plan benefits like call minutes, free data etc will remain unchanged.
The telecom service provider has announced the price hike across all plans including 3 pre-paid unlimited voice plans, 9 pre-paid daily data plans, 3 pre-paid data add-on plans and 4 post-paid plans.
According to the new tariff, an 84-day pre-paid plan costing Rs 509 will give 6GB data, 100 SMS and unlimited calling per day.
The Rs 1,999 pre-paid plan will give 24GB data, Unlimited calling, and 100 SMS/day for 365 days. The same plan was earlier costing Rs 1799.
The most affordable new 28-day pre-paid data plan will now cost Rs 299 instead of Rs 265 and will give 1 GB of data, unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day. Whereas the Rs 499 pre-paid data plan will be valid for 28 days and give 3GB, unlimited calling and 100SMS per day.
The lowest monthly post-paid plan will now cost Rs 449 instead of Rs 399. It will give one connection 40 GB data with rollover, unlimited calling, 100SMS per day and XStream Premium subscription.
The Airtel post-paid family plan will now cost Rs 1199 from Rs 999 earlier. A family plan will give 4 connections, 190 GB data with rollover, unlimited calling, 100SMS per day, an XStream Premium subscription, a Disney+Hotstar subscription for 12 months, an Amazon Prime Subscription for 6 months, and a Wynk Premium subscription.
Airtel says that the mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) needs to be upwards of Rs 300 to enable a financially healthy business model for Telcos in India.
“We believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in network technology and spectrum and offer a modest return on capital. In this light, we welcome the announcements in the industry to repair tariffs,” an official said.
Airtel says the new revised mobile tariffs will be applicable from July 3rd, 2024. According to Airtel, the price hike is very modest, less than 70p per day on the entry-level plans so that to eliminate any burden on budget-challenged consumers.
Jio’s Turn
Telecom service provider Jio on Thursday announced its new unlimited plans. The company said that the new plans will be available from July 3 and it will continue to provide the “best plans and best experience” to its users.
The company has raised the prices of its existing plans from monthly to annual plans. There are six monthly plans. The existing monthly plan of Rs 155 has been revised to Rs 189 and there has been revision in other plans in the category. The two-month plan of Rs 470 has been revised to Rs 579, the three-month plan has been revised from Rs 395 to Rs 479.
The annual plan of Rs 2999 has been revised to Rs 3599. The company stated that the unlimited 5G data will be available on all 2GB/day and above plans.
“The new plans will be made effective on July 3, 2024 and can be opted from all existing touchpoints and channels,” a Jio release said.
The company said that the Jio customers will continue to be the biggest beneficiaries. With Jio True 5G – the fastest-ever 5G rollout of this scale anywhere in the world, India now leads the world in 5G. Nearly 85 per cent of the total 5G cells operational in India are by Jio.
“With India’s only Stand-Alone True 5G network, Jio continues to provide superlative 5G experience with truly unlimited 5G data on its leading plans at no additional cost to its users,” the release said.
It said that even today, 250 million feature phone users in India “remain stuck in the 2G era, unable to access digital services”.
“To empower these users with a Digital Life, 4G-enabled JioBharat/JioPhone was introduced. JioBharat/JioPhone users will continue to enjoy the existing tariffs,” the release said.
Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, said the introduction of new plans is a step in the direction of furthering industry innovation and driving sustainable growth through investments in 5G and AI technology. “Ubiquitous, high-quality, affordable internet is the backbone of Digital India and Jio takes pride in contributing to this. Jio will always put our country and customer first and will continue to invest for India,” he said.
Jio said that building on its core principle of leveraging the power of technology to deliver the best value and services to its users, it has also introduced two new applications.
“JioSafe – Quantum-secure communication app for calling, messaging, file transfer and more (priced at Rs 199 per month) and JioTranslate – AI-powered multi-lingual communication app for translating voice call, voice message, text and image (priced at Rs 99 per month).”
Jio users will get both these applications (worth Rs 298/month) free for a year.
With Jio revising tariffs, other telecom operators may also raise tariffs soon. (ANI)
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