The last round of tariff hikes happened in India back in July 2024. While many users did switch from the private telcos to the state-owned operator BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), they again started switching back to the private companies. Industry experts were interested in observing whether people will shut down their SIM cards or not after the hikes. That didn't happen to the extent that it would count as something major took place. The private telcos started adding new subscribers just after a few months of losing them. Further, the industry is back to adding users, and that too at a decent pace.
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People still have dual SIMs on their phones, at least most users in India. Will another tariff hike change that? It's too unpredictable to say right now. But there's one thing for sure, the next round of tariff hikes won't be the same as the way they have happened so far. This is a topic for some other day.
The industry ARPU (average revenue per user) is growing fast. The monthly ARPU for wireless services grew to Rs 181.80 for QE December 2024 as per TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) data. The prepaid ARPU was around Rs 180.91 and postpaid ARPU was Rs 191.51. Also, TRAI data suggests that the wireless broadband subscriber base grew from 904.21 million at the end of July 2024 (the month of tariff hike) to 930.77 million at the end of May 2025.
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With the rising prices, telcos are also investing in their networks substantially to ensure a blanket 4G coverage is available for consumers and 5G can also reach everyone as fast as possible. In India, there are many who would tell you that they not only use two SIM cards, but more than that. This is because while the tariffs have gone up, they are still at a place where communicating with others can be considered affordable for maximum population.
