Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom operator in the country, will go ahead with tariff hikes by the end of 2022. The telco's current CEO, Ravinder Takkar, who will soon take over as the Chairman of VIL's board, said during the investors' call that the time for a tariff hike is right. In addition to this, Takkar said that 5G plans should definitely be offered at a premium over 4G. While Takkar did not give any specific date, he said that opportunity for a tariff hike is there before the end of 2022.
When will Vi Implement Tariff Hike?
This should not come as a surprise for the investors or consumers because this is what both Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have been saying for a long-time. The tariff hikes were inevitable, especially after spending a huge sum of money during the 5G spectrum auction. Vi has been incurring losses forever and has never made its investors a single rupee. The telco needs tariff hikes to boost revenues. Vi has been adding 4G subscribers, and with tariff hikes, its overall revenues should go up further in the coming quarters.
The telco's average revenue per user (ARPU) figure is still not even near Airtel and Jio. In addition to the tariff hikes, Takkar said that data usage would increase with the arrival of 5G in India. Both Jio and Airtel have hinted at a fast rollout of 5G, but nothing has been said by Vi along the same lines.
Vodafone Idea has failed to raise any significant sum of capital in the last few years and now has liquidity concerns ahead of itself. While the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) has helped telcos majorly with the relief package, it is still not enough for Vi. It is worth noting that the Vi management feels that investors would only give money to the telco once the government is allotted its respective stake in the company.
