Tariff plan might get costlier by mid 2023: Analysts

Mobile Prepaid and Postpaid tariff plans might soon have new costs as telecom service providers (TSPs) are predicted to raise the charges with the new year. According to reports, cellular oligopolies like Jio and Airtel would modify and raise the costs of their current plans by nearly 10% in order to boost revenue and profits for their businesses.

It is probable that both postpaid and prepaid pricing increases will be implemented by telecom firms. Analysts predict that even postpaid consumers may experience some plan price increases as a result of continued decline in the share of post-paid income.

By mid 2023, mobile carriers will most likely hike their rates. According to a forecast from brokerage firm IIFL securities, "With the increase in ARPU ( average revenue per user) connected to 5G is anticipated to be negligible in the near future, the increase in 4G prepaid tariffs continues to be the most noteworthy ARPU lever for telecoms. We anticipate more likely increases in 4G prepaid rates in the middle of 2023." It is also said that delaying tariff increases until closer to the 2024 general election increases the chance of political retaliation.

The most recent increase in mobile prepaid rates in India was implemented in November of 2021. After setting the precedent by increasing mobile services rates by nearly 42%, Vodafone-idea was followed by Jio and Airtel.

All of the nation's telecom providers have pledged to making sizable annual payments on 5G spectrum costs and are making investments in the implementation of their 5G networks. To pay for it all, experts predict they will be required to raise their ARPU. It's anticipated that the adoption of 5G will eventually increase ARPU, but that could take several quarters, if not longer. In the interim tariff increases seem like a more practical choice.

This raises another doubt among most consumers, will the cost of 5G plans increase separately? The answer is No, 5G is not something that Airtel or Jio intend to provide as a premium services as of now, until the deployment is more widespread. Consumers will therefore be able to access 5G services with their current 4G plans.