Jio joins Airtel & Voda with plan to raise tariffs

Youngest Telco Says Move Needed For Fresh Tech

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:20.11.2019

Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, said on Tuesday it plans to raise tariffs, adding that the move is necessary to make fresh network and technology investments and factor in any regulatory interventions.

Its rivals Vodafone Idea and Airtel on Monday announced their decisions to increase tariffs from next month. When it happens, it will be the first significant tariff increase by the new telecom operator, which had disrupted the financials of the mobile industry through its aggressive plans after launching services in September 2016. “As per media reports, we understand that Trai is likely to initiate a consultation process for revision of telecom tariffs. Like other operators, 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,” the company said in a statement.

The company said it plans to compete with rivals on the basis of quality and service in the marketplace.

“Jio will always keep the customer at the centre of everything and ensure that the customer continues to benefit the most.” The company said it will work aggressively on shifting 2G customers to a 4G eco-system so that data-driven benefits can be accessed by all. “…there are still over 40 crore Indian consumers who have not benefited from the advent of the latest technologies. We believe that the ambitious objectives of the ‘Digital India’ mission can be achieved only if India is made “2Gmukt” in the shortest timeframe possible… This requires continued investment at an industry level. Vodafone Idea and Airtel had said that they will increase tariffs in view of their unprecedented losses and heavy government dues and mounting debt.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel, which had reported record losses in July-September, said increase in tariffs will help them “remain viable”, while giving them elbow room to invest for network and technology expansion.

Voda, Airtel lose 50L users in Sep

New Delhi:Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel lost nearly 50 lakh users in September this year, while rival Reliance Jio added almost 70 lakh users, according to data from sectoral regulator TRAI. Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA and LTE) increased to over 117 crore. Bharti Airtel lost nearly 24 lakh users in September to take its user base to 32.6 crore. Similarly, Vodafone Idea lost almost 26 lakh users to take its user base to 37.2 crore. Jio had 35.5 crore. AGENCIES