The country’s third largest telecom operator by revenue, Idea Cellular Ltd., has increased its post-paid call tariffs by over 30 percent in several circles.
Idea subscribers have received text messages informing them about the increase in tariff, effective May 15, 2012.
Idea has also increased its SMS rates up to 100 percent in several post-paid plans.
Many operators have been warning about a tariff hike for quite sometime, so the Idea tariff hike does not come as a surprise. This was expected in the wake of the growing tax burden, unstable regulatory environment and falling margins.
Earlier this month, Vodafone India had also announced around 20 percent hike in its tariffs for a few circles. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) also indicated a price hike in its tariffs recently.
Some telecom analysts believe that hiking 2G tariff is the only way to push 3G services in the country.