Mobile data, calls to get costlier: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea to raise tariffs from this date

The upcoming month of December could be the month when India’s largest incumbent telecom operators finally break free of the clutches of high intensity competition by Reliance Jio. Mukesh Ambani’s relatively newer entrant in the Indian telecom industry has forced the other operators to bleed profit margins in trying to match its dirt cheap tariff offers. But no more, telecom companies Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea seem to be saying now. Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea on Monday said they will raise mobile services tariffs from the month of December 2019 to remain viable and recoup from financial stress.

The telecom sector requires continuous capital investments to keep up with the fast changing technology cycles, Bharti Airtel said. “It is, therefore, extremely important that the industry remains viable to support the vision of Digital India,” the Sunil Mittal-company said in a statement, adding that it will raise the prices of its services in the month beginning December.