Telecom tariff: Jio to follow Airtel, Voda Idea, raise rates in a few weeks

Reliance Jio, which disrupted the telecom market ever since its commercial launch in 2016, has decided to follow rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in raising mobile phone tariffs. Having kicked off a no holds barred tariff war three years ago, the Mukesh Ambani-owned firm is now stepping back.

According to sources in the know, the tariff hike decision by the telcos is in response to the government wanting the industry to stop the long-drawn price war and set their house in order. In the absence of a tariff hike, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) may have been forced to impose a floor price for the operators. Also, the government has been of the view that any relief measure for the telecom industry should be given only after telcos get out of the price war, that has left the incumbent operators with record losses and high debt, the sources said.