Why you should get ready for a higher mobile bill soon
If you are one of us who check every mobile bill then this might be a little disturbing news for you. Telecom companies might be planning to increase tariff plans in the coming months. If that happens then consumers will have to cough up more to talk on mobile and use the internet.
This comes at a time when most people are working from home and children attending online courses, data and connectivity have become as essential as salt and grain.
Since when will I have to pay a higher mobile bill?
According to the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) the telecom companies are preparing to increase the rates from April 1. According to the (ICRA) report, telecom companies, reeling under financial pressure, can once again increase tariffs to bump up their revenue from April 2021.
For consumers, this would mean higher call and data rates starting from April 1, something that we are not used to since the launch of Jio. However, at present, there is no indication given by the telcos about the quantum of increase.
ICRA says that the increase in tariff and up-gradation of customers from 2G to 4G can improve the average revenue per user (ARPU) for the telecom companies. Let us remind you that ARPU is basically a corporate way of saying the average mobile bill that users pay.
As per an estimate, due to this migration of users to 4G and an increase in tariffs, the ARPU for the telcos can be around Rs. 220, by the middle of the year, from less than Rs. 150 as of now. While this will increase the industry’s revenue and profits, it means a higher mobile bill for the users.
Why are telcos increasing tariffs now?
The fact that the Coronavirus epidemic did not have much impact on the telecom industry, has bolstered the confidence of the Telecom companies. Rather the situation improved due to data usage and tariff increase in lockdown. Work from home, data usage increased due to online classes.
Last few quarters almost all telecom companies have seen healthy growth in new users, with an exception of Jio where the growth seems to be slowing down. However, these are reasons enough for Telecom operators to think that they can go for another round of price increase.
Can I do something about my mobile bill?
It seems that the telecom industry is set to take advantage of the pandemic situation, where work from home and online classes have become a norm. So be ready to cough up more money to pay your mobile bill from April 2021. Frankly speaking, I don’t think the consumers will have much say in this regard.
However, we would recommend all postpaid users review their plans and evaluate if they need all the services that they are paying for. Also, check out the other plans that might be more suitable for you with lower data pricing and costlier calling rates. Remember that now you can have most of your calls over data, therefore, it is important to keep your data rates as low as possible.
In case that doesn’t work for you, you may also evaluate switching to another telecom operator if you find that their plans are more lucrative and services at par with your current operator.
The only way this price increase can be softened is if the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) intervenes once again. The TRAI can advise the telecom companies not to overburden the users in these difficult times. While TRAI might not be able to stop the price increase it can surely push the Telcos to keep the price increase to a reasonable level.
Drop your comments below if you think TRAI should intervene in case of a price hike.
You may also like
Elon Musk is launching Starlink in India