Vodafone and Airtel in India haven't been doing that great in India.?Vodafone, even after fusing with Indian telecom brand Idea, has been incurring a ton of losses. And now the telecom giant has revealed that it will be hiking its tariffs to do some damage control.
Reuters
In an official statement, Vodafone Idea spokesperson states, "Mobile data charges in India are by far the cheapest in the world even as the demand for mobile data services continues to grow rapidly...The acute financial stress in the telecom sector has been acknowledged by all stakeholders and a high-level Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by the Cabinet Secretary is looking into providing appropriate relief," the Vodafone Idea press statement reads.
The statement further adds, "To ensure that its customers continue to enjoy world-class digital experiences, Vodafone Idea will suitably increase the prices of its tariffs effective 1 December 2019... VIL will continue to actively invest in making its network future-fit by embedding new-age technologies and launching new products/services to cater to the evolving needs of its over 300 million customers."?
Reuters
Moments after Vodafone's announcement, Bharti Airtel too revealed that it will be spiking its tariffs starting December. The official statement said,?"Sector is highly capital intensive with fast changing tech cycles that require continuing investments. It is, therefore, extremely important that ind remains viable to support vision of Digital India. Accordingly, co will hike prices in from December."
Recently, reports revealed that Bharti Airtel and Vodafone reported a loss of around 74,000 crores (Vodafone Idea: 50,921 crores/ Airtel: Rs 23,045 crores) in the previous quarter after statutory dues arose out of the September quarter.?
Reuters
In case you didn't know the Supreme court upheld a demand from the telecoms department for $13 billion in overdue levies and interest last month, hitting the shares of both Vodafone Idea and rival Bharti Airtel. Vodafone has clashed with Indian authorities over tax and regulatory issues ever since it entered the country.
Recently, Vodafone Chief Executive Nick Read was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters that, India, where Vodafone formed a joint venture with Idea Cellular in 2018, had been "a very challenging situation for a long time," but Vodafone Idea still has 300 million customers, equating to a 30% share of the sizable market.