Private Telecom giants Vodafone Idea Ltd(VIL), Bharti Airtel Ltd and Reliance Jio are set to raise their prepaid service charges. While Vodafone India Limited and Bharti India Limited would be implementing their rates from December 3 onwards Reliance Jio would raise its charges from December 6. Bharti Airtel Limited is scheduled to to raise its rates in the range of 14 % to 40% across various categories whereas Vodafone India Limited would be pushing up its rates across various categories in the range between 22% to 67%. Bharti Airtel Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and Reliance Jio combined together amount for 90% of India’s telecom market which includes 1.18 billion telecom subscribers. Both Bharti Airtel Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited(VIL) have huge liabilities, government sources confirm that Bharti Airtel has liabilities amounting to Rs 35,586 crore that includes licence fees and spectrum usage charges, Vodafone India Limited has liabilities amounting to Rs 44,150 crore. Reliance Jio services are said to be charged 40% higher from December 6 onwards, in return the company has promised newer services to its customers.
Industry bodies such as Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) have written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for relief for the telecom Industry, they argue that the telecom sector is a major productivity enhancer for various Industries hence deserves the support of the government.
