Vodafone Idea needs periodic tariff hikes to sustain 5G investment

Vodafone Idea is a big phone company in India.

It owes a lot of money and wants to build new, faster internet networks called 5G.

Building those networks costs a lot of money.

The company's boss, Kumar Mangalam Birla, says phone bills in India are some of the cheapest in the world.

He thinks phone companies should be allowed to charge a little more sometimes.

That way, they can pay for building better networks.

The company is also talking to banks to borrow money for its big building plan.

Vodafone Idea already has about 192.8 million customers.

Birla says better networks will help India grow and become a developed country by the year 2047.