BSNL tags along with Jio, Airtel and Vodafone, reportedly hiking tariffs in December

Top telecom operators in India like Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Airtel recently announced hiking tariff plans in the coming weeks. While it is confirmed that prices will increase, there’s still no word on how exactly this will impact consumers. Now, BSNL is also planning to increase its tariff prices from December, reports ET. An unnamed senior BSNL official has apparently confirmed that the state-run telecom operator will increase its prices from December 2019. When the price increase happens, BSNL users will be notified about the development, the report states.

“We are presently examining our voice and data tariff and will increase it from December 1, 2019,” the BSNL official reportedly told ET. Even if BSNL is planning to increase its tariff plans, the news doesn’t really come as a surprise since the company has been losing money and is constantly trying to increase its revenue. However, if the telco does increase tariff pricing, it will go up against its prior decision of crediting back six paise to its users when they place a voice call. The company announced this soon after Reliance Jio announced that it will charge its users six paise per minute as IUC charges.

We suggest that you take the report with a pinch of salt since BSNL has not confirmed this yet. Additionally, while BSNL might be mulling over increasing its tariff prices, Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone have already confirmed that they will do so. Jio says, "We will also work with the Government and comply with the regulatory regime to strengthen the industry to benefit Indian consumers and take measures including appropriate increase in tariffs in next few weeks in a manner that does not adversely impact data consumption or growth in digital adoption and sustains investments."

In a media statement, Vodafone said that data charges in India are the cheapest in the world. “To ensure that its customers continue to enjoy world-class digital experiences, Vodafone Idea will suitably increase the prices of its tariffs effective 1 December 2019,” Vodafone’s statement reads. Similarly, Airtel cites recurring intensive investments in the telecom sector to keep up with fast-changing tech. “It is, therefore, extremely important that the industry remains viable to support the vision of Digital India. Accordingly, Airtel will appropriately increase price offerings in the month beginning December,” Airtel’s statement reads.