Airtel hikes entry pre-paid tariffs after 20 months

NEW DELHI: Airtel hiked minimum tariffs for pre-paid customers after nearly 20 months, the decision coming days after the company had made changes to charges on post-paid enterprise and family-mobile packs.

The move displays a willingness on the part of the debt-laden telecom operator to take the tariffs up in India, which has one of the world’s lowest charges on mobile telephony, even as companies struggle with debt and losses.

However, Airtel is still avoiding a full-fledged tariff hike in view of the tough competition from Reliance Jio, which had originally demolished the traditional business financials of the telecom industry and rolled out services with cheap data prices and free voice.