Jio, Airtel, And Vi Likely To Increase Tariffs Ahead Of 5G Rollout

The 5G spectrum auction in India culminated with Reliance Jio getting 24,740MHz spectrum for ₹88,078 crores, Bharti Airtel acquiring 19867.8MHz spectrum for ₹43,084 crores, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) acquiring 3300MHz in the mid-band 5G spectrum and 26GHz in the mmWave 5G spectrum. All three major carriers in India are anticipated to begin widespread 5G rollouts by October this year.

Both Jio and Airtel are planning to roll out 5G services on Independence Day, although this will most likely be confined to a specific segment of customers and in specific locations. All major telecom experts and executives have now hinted at rate increases ahead of the 5G launch.

According to a BGR report, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is not charging telecom operators a Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC). In addition, the agency has eliminated the 3 percent floor rate. As a result of these adjustments, Nomura Research predicts that three telecom firms would raise their charges by a mere 4 percent or 30 percent for the popular 84-day plan in the case of 5G.

According to the research firm, Jio consumers would suffer a greater tariff increase than Airtel users. Nomura analysts also stated in their assessment that both companies, Jio and Airtel, are anticipated to demand premium pricing for their 5G services. In a separate report, ICICI Securities stated that telecom providers are expected to raise rates by up to 15 percent to offset their recent expenditure.

DoT anticipates telecom providers to pay about ₹13,500 crores in the first installment over the next 10 days, with Jio paying around ₹7,838 crores, Airtel paying roughly ₹3,834 crores, Vi ponying up around ₹1,673 crores, and Adani Data Networks putting up around ₹212 crores. Given the impending 5G installment, the tariff hike is expected to be announced sometime next month.