Reliance Jio follows Airtel, Vodafone Idea; hikes prices

Following the rate hikes by telecom service providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio on Sunday raised prices of its voice and data plans for its prepaid customers.

The company has hiked the prices of its plans by up to 21 per cent. The new rates would be applicable from December 1, Reliance Jio said in a release.

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The JioPhone Plan, which used to cost Rs 75 earlier for 28 days, will now cost Rs 91, while the Rs-129 voice and data plan would now cost Rs 155 for 28 days as per the revised tariffs. Here are the new prices for all the plans:

With this announcement by Reliance Jio, all three major telecom players have hiked the prices to push up the average revenue per user (ARPU).

Bharti Airtel was the first company to announce price hike on November 22. It was followed by a similar announcement by Vodafone Idea a day later.

Bharti Airtel, while announcing the price hikes, said it has always maintained that ARPU needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300 to provide a reasonable return on capital that allows for a financially healthy business model.

During July-September period, Jio's ARPU stood at Rs 143.6, while that of Airtel was at Rs 153. For Vodafone Idea, it was at Rs 109.

Also Read: Airtel increases mobile tariffs; check out new rates here

Also Read: Vodafone Idea increases prices of its prepaid plans; check new rates