According to an Economic Times report citing analysts, India's two largest telecom operators, Bharati Airtel and Reliance Jio, are likely to withdraw their unlimited 5G data plans in the second half of 2024 and charge at least 5-10% more than the current 4G tariff to drive monetisation and revenue growth.
In October 2022, Reliance Jio and Airtel Bharti launched 5G services in the country and since then they have been offering unlimited 5G services at existing 4g tariffs. It seems the era of 5G will be ending soon, as both companies planning to roll out 5G services across the country and focusing on monetisation as adoption increases.
According to ET Report, a note from Jefferies noted that Airtel and Jio could increase their 5G plans by 5-10% (compared to current 4G plans) while offering 30-40% additional data to improve adoption and increase market share.
Further, it added, that mobile tariffs may increase by at least 20% in the September quarter of 2024, to improve (return on capital employed)RoCE.
The ET report, citing International Telecom Union data, stated that there is still room for telcos to raise prices because India's telecom service tariff remains the lowest in the world at $2 per month. Furthermore, it has been more than two years since Jio, Vi, and Airtel last increased their tariffs by 19-25% in November 2021.
According to reports, Airtel will be the first to increase tariffs, followed by Vodafone Idea and Jio, resulting in an increase in India's mobile sector revenues by 2024. According to CLSA estimates cited by ET, India's mobile sector revenue is expected to increase from ₹2,46,800 crore in FY24 to ₹2,77,300 crore and ₹3,07,800 crore in FY25 and FY26, respectively.
(Inputs from agencies)
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