Vi risks losing more users as it moves to raise tariffs

With top executives at Vodafone Idea Ltd (Vi) indicating it could be the first among the three private telecom players to raise tariff, analysts said the cash-strapped company will need others to join in or risk losing more customers.

Vodafone Idea’s chief executive, Ravinder Takkar, said in October that the telco will not shy away from raising prices and will set a precedent. This, even as it continues to lose millions of wireless customers every month, while rivals Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd add more users.

According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data, Vodafone Idea lost 1.2 million wireless subscribers in August, shedding customers for the 10th straight month. But the loss was lower than the previous months hit by the covid-led disruptions.