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Now, Vodafone Idea Hikes Prepaid Tariffs, Boosting Its Fundraising Plan

The new prices will be effective Nov. 25, 2021.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Vodafone Idea store (Source: BloombergQuint).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p></div>
Vodafone Idea store (Source: BloombergQuint).  

Vodafone Idea Ltd. has hiked prices of its prepaid plans, crucial for the struggling carrier’s fundraising, following peer Bharti Airtel Ltd.

“The new plans will start the process of ARPU (average revenue per user) improvement and help address the financial stress faced by the industry,” Vi said in a media statement. The new tariff plans will allow the company to improve its mobile and broadband network.

  • The entry-level plan will cost Rs 99 compared with the earlier price of Rs 79.

  • The unlimited voice pack for 28 days will start from Rs 179 compared with Rs 149 earlier.

  • The 56-day pack will start from Rs 479 against Rs 399 earlier.

  • The 84-day plan will start from Rs 459 as opposed to Rs 379 earlier.

  • The higher-end full-year plans will start from Rs 1,799 against Rs 1,499 earlier.

  • The minimum data top-up plan will cost Rs 58 compared with Rs 48 earlier.

The new prices will be effective Nov. 25, 2021.

This comes a day after rival Bharti Airtel raised prepaid tariffs by at least 20% effective Nov. 26. Motilal Oswal, in a Nov. 22 report, had said a similar price hike will increase Vi’s Ebitda by 100%.

According to Citi Research, the tariff hikes could also help Vi with its much-delayed capital-raise plan, critical for it to accelerate network investments and stem subscriber losses.

Close to 92% of Vi’s mobile services customers are prepaid, according to its quarterly release. The company’s ARPU—the amount an operator earns per subscriber per month—rose to Rs 109 in the quarter ended September from Rs 104 in the preceding three months.

The carrier, however, reported losses for the 13th straight quarter.