Airtel hikes prepaid tariffs by 20%, Vodafone Idea likely to follow suit

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel has hiked by around 20 per cent its pre-paid plans, making the first move to improve the financial sustainability of the sector.

Vodafone Idea ( Vi, is expected to follow suit, as its chief executive officer Ravinder Takkar indicated last week that tariff hikes will happen soon. The company however has not yet made an announcement. Airtel and Vi had hiked rates in entry-level pre-paid plans and certain postpaid and family packs a few months back.

Airtel’s latest hikes will be for rates across all slabs (Rs 79 to Rs 2,498). It increased rates for data top-ups as well and said the new tariff plan will come into effect from November 26.