Telcos justify mobile tariff hike

Telecom service providers in the country, including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Reliance Communications, have cited inflationary pressures as the reason for the recent hike in tariffs in most operating circles.

Vodafone and Idea ended 'one paisa' call tariff in select circles while Reliance Communications increased call tariffs by 20 per cent.

In their reply to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) almost all telcos have cited inflation as the reason for the tariff hike.

"Telecom is probably the only industry where, despite increasing inflation, tariffs have been falling unabated. Continuously declining margins, high 3G and BWA auction prices, constrained spectrum and rural roll-out aspirations leave us with little choice but to make some price corrections," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

TRAI had asked leading telecom service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, to justify their decision to hike mobile tariffs by up to 20 per cent.

"We have sent letters to all the companies that have recently hiked tariffs seeking justification as to why they have hiked the tariffs and the reasons for the same. The last one has gone to Reliance Communications," TRAI chairman J S  Sarma said on the sidelines of an event.

Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Reliance Communications have raised tariffs for their services by about 20 per cent in most operating circles.

Airtel has raised the tariffs for its 'Advantage' and 'Freedom' pre-paid services to 60 paise per minute for local and STD mobile-to-mobile calls. Earlier, it was 50 paise per minute in this category.