Jio increases mobile plan rates by 12-27%, Airtel also announces a 10-21% hike in prices

Bharti Airtel increased prepaid and postpaid mobile tariffs by 10-21%  following a similar announcement from Reliance Jio. The significance of the move lies in being the first major tariff increase by the telecom industry in two and a half years.

Airtel will implement a tariff increase of 10-21 % on several plans starting on July 3. Jio and Airtel both increased mobile plan prices by 10-27% following the announcement.

Airtel has announced a slight price increase (less than 70 paise per day) on basic plans to avoid putting pressure on financially constrained customers. It was also stated that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) must exceed ₹ 300 to support a financially sustainable business model for telecom companies in India.

The daily data add-on rate for 1GB will go up by ₹ 3, from ₹ 19 to ₹ 22. For the 365-day validity plan with 2GB/day, the increase will be a significant ₹ 600, jumping from ₹ 2,999 to ₹ 3,599. The price for the unlimited voice plan has increased by ₹20 from ₹179 to ₹199 in the 28-day validity plan, which includes 2GB of data for users.

The ₹ 579 plan in the daily data category now offers 56-day validity and 1.5GB/day, up from the previous ₹ 479 plan (a 20.8% increase). The 1GB/day plan now costs ₹ 299 instead of ₹ 265, and the 1.5GB/day plan has gone up from ₹ 299 to ₹ 349.

In the extended 84-day validity plans, customers will need to pay an additional ₹ 140 (in terms of absolute value) based on the package available. The price for the 1.5GB/day plan has increased from ₹ 719 to ₹ 859, and the price for the 2GB/day plan has increased from ₹ 839 to ₹ 979.

The cost of data add-ons has also increased - for 1GB with one-day validity, rates went up from ₹ 19 to ₹ 22; and for 2GB, prices will rise from ₹ 29 to ₹ 33. The price of the 4GB add-on with 65-day validity has increased from ₹ 65 to ₹ 77.