Reliance Jio Wants To Increase Data Prices To Rs. 20 Per GB

After increasing tariff prices last year in December, Reliance Jio, India's most profitable telecom operator, is again looking to raise it (tariffs) further. In fact, the operator has also asked TRAI for the same. The telco is reportedly planning to raise data prices to Rs. 20 as against Rs. 15 per GB.

The telco said that there is high time TRAI should intervene in the matter and come up with floor pricing for the data services. It said that the floor prices should be done in two and three tranches. So, it will not affect the consumers. The operator has also suggested that the floor pricing should be done at all tariffs and it should include all enterprises and customers.

Vodafone-Idea Wants To Increase Data Rates To Rs. 35

On the other hand, Vodafone-Idea has asked the sector regulator to set data prices at Rs. 35 per GB against Rs. 15 at present. "There are a number of demands that Vodafone Idea has put across the government for its survival. The company wants a minimum price of data that should be fixed at Rs 35 per gigabyte and minimum monthly connection charge at Rs 50 from April 1, 2020. These are tough demands which are a problem for the government to fulfill," an official was quoted by PTI.

Both Vodafone-Idea and the Airtel owes a debt of Rs. 53,000 crore and Rs. 35,000 crore, respectively, which they have to pay to the Department of Telecommunication. However, Airtel has already paid Rs. 18,000 crore to the ministry, while Vodafone-Idea has paid Rs. 3,500 crore. It is worth mentioning that floor prices will improve the overall situation of the telecom sector. Furthermore, the operators want to increase their ARPU to Rs. 300 by the end of 2021, so this will be the first step to achieve this target.