NEW DELHI: The country’s largest telecom service provider Reliance Jio lost highest number of subscribers among the three private telcos after tariff hike.
Jio had implemented the steepest tariff hikes, followed by Airtel and Vodafone Idea (VIL). As per the official data, between July 2024 and September 2024, Jio saw the biggest fall in users, losing 10.94 million. Airtel followed with a loss of 5.27 million, while VIL saw the lowest drop, losing 4.80 million users.
Jio hiked its Rs 239 plan by 25% to Rs 299. The base plan of Rs 155 also saw a 22% rise, climbing to Rs 189. The top-tier plan, priced at Rs 1,559, was increased by 22% to Rs 1,899. Other plans, including the Rs 479 and Rs 395, saw price hikes of 21% and 22%, respectively. Airtel, also raised prices across several prepaid plans, with hikes ranging from 11% to 21%.
The highest increases were seen in long-term plans, including the Rs 479 plan (up 21%) and the Rs 2,999 plan (up 20%). Shorter-term plans like the Rs 179 and Rs 265 options, saw more moderate hikes of 11% to 13%. VIL, while still implementing price hikes, had the lowest hikes among the three telcos. Its tariffs were raised by 11% to 21% from July 4, 2024.
Similar to Airtel, the most significant price hikes were seen in longer validity plans like the Rs 479 and Rs 2,899 plans, which increased by 21%. Short-term plans with 28-day validity were also affected, with hikes of up to 17%. Despite the hikes, VIL’s lower increases contributed to less subscriber churn compared to its competitors.
Meanwhile, the government said India continued to have the lowest tariffs among its neighbouring nations.