It has been in discussion for some time now but the days of cheap prepaid tariff plans with unlimited voice and data are numbered. The last time there was a prepaid tariff price hike done by the telcos it was Vodafone Idea (Vi) that was at the forefront of it with Airtel and Jio both raising its prepaid tariff prices later. Now again it is Vodafone Idea (Vi) who is going to bring the second prepaid tariff price hike. A report that was published on LiveMint had Ravinder Takkar CEO of Vodafone Idea (Vi) saying “If you look at the current pricing, there is something wrong with it. We have said before that we would not shy away from hiking prices and we will be happy to be the first one to do so. We hope others in the industry will follow,” Takkar noted.
In a unique offer, Vi’s prepaid customers can carry forward unused data during the week on weekends. This #WeekendRollover bonanza is for those who want to use more data during the weekends, without having to worry about their data quota getting wasted. @ViCustomerCare
— Vi_News (@VodaIdea_NEWS) October 19, 2020
Vodafone Idea (Vi), Airtel, Jio Prepaid Tariff Price Hike?
The statement that Mr. Ravinder Takkar, CEO of Vodafone Idea (Vi) gave to Mint has cleared many of the doubts that many had for this coming prepaid tariff price hike. He’s not wrong when he says that the current model of giving so much free for a little fee is unsustainable. There is a situation going on with the current prices of prepaid tariff plans where telcos are basically giving away Voice, SMS, OTT Subscriptions, and everything in between for prices that are at best promotional pricing. Today a customer can easily get a full year of Disney Hotstar Premium subscription from their service provider along with highspeed internet, free voice calls, and free SMS for less than Rs. 500.
To put it in perspective, the lowest Netflix plan in the US is worth $8 which is Rs. 595. For Rs. 595 people in the US are able to stream Netflix on one screen at a time. Compare that to what the Indian Telcos are charging for basically unlimited data and everything else and it makes sense why this model is not suitable for them. Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel CEO has also stated “industry cannot continue to function at the current prices for voice and data services.”
It is clear that both Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Airtel are having a hard time competing with the prices Reliance Jio is offering and for a good reason. Unlike Reliance, both Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Airtel don’t have massive tentacles that spread into every business sector of the country. It may seem that Reliance Jio offering lower prepaid tariff prices for customers is a good thing but that is something viable only for the short term. In the long term, it will be a devastating blow to the country’s telecom infrastructure if we lose both Vodafone Idea (Vi) or Airtel.
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