The burden on the pockets of mobile users may increase further in the coming months. The country's leading telecom company Airtel has started this by discontinuing its selected cheap prepaid plans. The company has removed some popular plans priced at Rs 299 and below. According to Morgan Stanley, after the removal of the entry-level Rs 299 plan, customers will now have to directly choose the next available plan of Rs 349, which may cost users up to Rs 50 more on every recharge.
After this change, now all eyes are on Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi), who still have affordable options of Rs 299. Experts believe that for the expansion of 5G network and better returns, a tariff increase of 10 to 15 percent may be seen in the coming time. According to IIFL Capital, another new tariff hike may come by the end of 2026. In terms of ARPU, currently Airtel is leading with Rs 264, while Jio is at second place with Rs 215.6.
Analysts believe that Vodafone Idea (Vi) has an opportunity to take advantage of this situation. If Vi wants, it can attract those customers who are looking for low-cost plans by maintaining its cheap plans. However, if Vi also changes its tariffs, its revenue per customer may increase. With the removal of cheap plans by Airtel, the company's monthly revenue per customer is also expected to increase significantly.
