‘Mobile recharge plan prices may rise by 15%’:Airtel, VI others may again hike tariffs

‘Mobile recharge plan prices may rise by 15%’: Airtel, VI others may again hike tariffs Mobile recharge plans may jump by another 15% due to slowing company revenues in India, said news portal ‘Telecomtalk’, citing a financial report by Motilal Oswal. Using phones in India is getting more expensive. When Reliance Jio first arrived in September 2016, it gave away free data and calls. This changed everything, and phone bills across India became very cheap. However, things are very different now. Over the years, all mobile companies have raised their prices multiple times. The most recent major price hike happened in July 2024, when companies increased their rates by 10% to 25% to pay for expensive new 5G networks. Today, a normal monthly plan that used to cost under ₹200 now costs around ₹250 to ₹350.
According to another report by Elara Capital, India’s telecom sector is entering a multi-year growth and recovery phase with ARPU CAGR expected to grow to 7% during FY26-29E, which will likely reduce India’s tariff gap. Tariffs in India are still among lowest globally: India’s telecom sector is in a multi-year recovery, driven by ARPU improvement, structural data demand, and lower incremental capex. This creates a favorable backdrop for earnings upgrade, deleveraging and higher free cash flow conversion.
India undergoing data boom According to the report, India’s telecom sector is driving a data consumption boom supported by affordable tariffs, widespread smartphone adoption, and expanding network coverage across rural India. We model an ARPU CAGR of 7% during FY26-29E, which should reduce India’s tariff gap with global markets and restore attractive returns on invested capital. -Elara Capital report According to the report, India’s per-user monthly data consumption increased to 21GB during CY16-24. We see a credible path for per-subscriber use to exceed 65GB per subscriber in the next decade from ~21GB in CY24. -Elara Capital According to Elara, the telecom sector is well-positioned to raise ARPU, which is projected to grow at a 7% CAGR between FY26 and FY29. We expect ARPU CAGR to accelerate to 7% during FY26-29E. -Elara Capital “We expect blended ARPU to increase to 6 per cent in FY27E, 8% in FY28E, and 6% in FY29E, driven by tariff resets and higher average consumption,” the report added, according to the news agency ANI.