After Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea has announced new tariff plans for its prepaid and postpaid services, set to take effect from July 4. The revised rates see an increase of 11-24% across various plans.
Under the new structure, the entry-level plan with a 28-day validity has been increased by 11% to Rs 199 from the previous Rs 179. The popular 84-day plan, offering 1.5 GB of data per day, will now cost Rs 859, up from Rs 719. The annual unlimited plan’s price has been raised by approximately 21% to Rs 3,499 from Rs 2,899. Additionally, the 56-day plan with 1.5GB of daily data will now cost Rs 579, up from Rs 479.
However, Vodafone Idea has kept the price of its 365-day plan with a 24GB data limit unchanged at Rs 1,799.
A press release from Vodafone Idea stated, “In line with its commitment to provide its consumers with simple and comprehensive plans, Vi has curated an optimum range of feature-rich plans to meet the diverse needs of its consumers. Staying true to its philosophy of supporting entry-level users and progressively linking higher prices to increased usage, changes in entry-level plans are nominal.”
The release also highlighted that “Vi is the only operator offering a range of unmatched benefits to its prepaid customers with Night Free Data and Weekend Data Roll Over through its ‘Hero Unlimited’ plans, and a unique ‘Choose Your Benefit’ option for its postpaid customers under its Vi Max Plans.”
Following this trend, Bharti Airtel announced a 10-21% hike in its prepaid, postpaid, and data tariffs on Friday. Reliance Jio had announced similar hikes a day earlier. Both Jio and Airtel’s new rates will be effective from July 3.
Telecom operators have been pushing for tariff hikes to support the expansion of services and investments in 5G technology. Airtel emphasized the need for these changes, stating, “We believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in network technology and spectrum and offer a modest return on capital. In this light, we welcome the announcements in the industry to repair tariffs.”
These new tariff plans will be available to customers across all existing touchpoints and channels. (ANI)