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Indian Telecom Stocks Shift Plans as Jio, Airtel Compete
India’s three biggest telecom companies reported their results for the April-to-June quarter.
Airtel earned more money and removed some cheaper phone plans.
Its cheapest unlimited daily-data plan now costs Rs 349.
Jio did not raise its Rs 299 plan.
Instead, Jio brought back a membership costing Rs 300.
Members receive protection from tariff increases until September 2027.
Vodafone Idea reduced its losses but has not changed its prices.
The companies are trying to earn more from customers while preparing for possible price increases across the industry.
Bharti Airtel’s June-quarter net profit rose 37% year-on-year to Rs 8,167 crore, while revenue increased 18% to Rs 58,539 crore.
Airtel withdrew its Rs 299, Rs 579, Rs 619 and Rs 649 prepaid plans, raising its cheapest unlimited plan to Rs 349.
Reliance Jio reported a 9.2% increase in profit after tax and relaunched its Rs 300 Prime membership with tariff protection through September 2027.
Vodafone Idea narrowed its quarterly loss and recorded its first reported subscriber increase since the 2018 merger, but excluded machine-to-machine connections it lost 0.46 million users.
The companies’ moves come as brokerages anticipate an industry-wide tariff increase later in the fiscal year.
- Who
- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea.
- What
- The telecom companies reported June-quarter results and changed or reviewed their prepaid pricing and membership strategies.
- Where
- India’s telecommunications market.
- When
- The results covered the quarter ended in June; Airtel changed plans on August 12 and Jio relaunched Prime on August 17.
- Why
- The moves are part of efforts to increase revenue from existing users and position the companies ahead of a possible industry-wide tariff hike later in the fiscal year.
Airtel’s Pricing Push
Jio’s Loyalty Strategy
Response to possible tariff increases
Airtel’s Pricing Push
Airtel withdrew four prepaid plans and raised the entry point for unlimited daily-data plans to Rs 349.
Jio’s Loyalty Strategy
Jio kept its Rs 299 entry-level unlimited plan unchanged and offered members protection against tariff increases until September 2027.
Customer and revenue strategy
Airtel’s Pricing Push
Airtel’s plan withdrawals followed strong financial results and were associated with efforts to raise its ARPU floor.
Jio’s Loyalty Strategy
Jio used a revived Prime membership and cashback offer to encourage customer loyalty without immediately raising its plan price.
Vodafone Idea’s approach
Airtel’s Pricing Push
Airtel’s action could provide a model for broader industry pricing changes, according to the market context described in the report.
Jio’s Loyalty Strategy
Vodafone Idea is waiting to see how Airtel customers respond before deciding whether to make a similar pricing move.
Key facts
- Airtel net profit
- Rs 8,167 crore in the June quarter, up 37% year-on-year.
- Airtel cheapest unlimited plan
- Rs 349 after the withdrawal of the Rs 299 plan.
- Jio profit after tax
- Rs 7,764 crore, up 9.2% year-on-year.
- Jio Prime fee
- Rs 300 as a one-time fee, including tariff protection until September 2027.
- Vodafone Idea net loss
- Rs 3,754 crore, compared with Rs 6,611 crore a year earlier.
- June subscriber additions
- Jio added 2.15 million wireless subscribers, while Airtel added 2.99 million.
- Market share
- Jio held the largest overall market share at 39.27% in June, according to TRAI data.
Sources
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