Vodafone Idea Announces Prepaid, Postpaid Tariff Hikes to Match Rivals

Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Friday announced that it was hiking the prices of its mobile tariffs in India. The beleaguered telecom operator followed rivals Reliance Jio and Airtel, which both announced higher prices for their prepaid recharge plans and postpaid plans on Thursday and Friday, respectively. All three carriers are looking to raising their average revenue per user (ARPU) while increasing profits and recouping expenditure on 5G network infrastructure over the past couple of years.

Vi prepaid recharge plan price increase

Just like Airtel and Reliance Jio, customers who opt for a prepaid recharge plan from Vi will soon have to pay higher prices to access the same data and calling benefits as their existing plan. It is worth noting that while Vi’s most expensive annual recharge plan, offers a lower daily data allowance compared to Airtel and Jio, but is cheaper by Rs. 100.

All the plans that offer a daily data allowance (with the exception of the Rs. 299 plan) offer unlimited data between 12am and 6am, as well as weekend data rollover, according to the operator. 

In order to remain competitive with its biggest rivals, Vi has had to keep its prices on par with their recently updated tariffs. Airtel announced on Friday that it had to ensure that its ARPU had to exceed Rs. 300 in order for the telecom operator in order to recover spending on 5G networks and ensure the carrier incurs enough profit.

Vi postpaid plan price hike

Customers who have a postpaid plan will also have to pay an additional amount every month once the revised tariffs go into effect. The Rs. 401 plan with 50GB of data will soon be priced at Rs. 451, while the Rs. 501 plan with 90GB of monthly data will cost Rs. 551. Both these plans offer unlimited data usage at night, along with access to some over-the-top (OTT) services.

Similarly, the Family plans with two and four lines are also set to get more expensive, according to the operator. The plan with two lines (offering 70GB of data for the first number and 40 GB of data for the second) will cost Rs. 701, up from Rs. 601. The four line plan (with 140GB for the primary number and 40GB of data each for the secondary numbers) currently costs Rs. 1,001, and will cost Rs. 1,201 when the new tariffs are introduced.

Vi price hike effective from July 4

The operator is yet to update these new prices on its website, just like rivals Airtel and Jio. According to Vodafone Idea, the new prices for Vi prepaid recharge plans will be effective from July 4. Prepaid customers will see the updated pricing when they recharge their phone number after that date, while postpaid customers will see the new plans when their next monthly bill arrives.