Telecom tariff hikes likely in second half of this fiscal

TELECOM OPERATORS MAY consider another round of tariff hikes in the second half of the current fiscal year, as subscriber additions stabilise and the impact of the July 2024 hikes begins to wear off, according to analysts.

- URVI MALVANIA

Data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) indicates a steady return to net subscriber growth, primarily driven by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. Jio, in particular, has shown consistent gains since January 2025, adding 2.17 million users in March, up from 1.7 million in February. Airtel added 1.25 million subscribers during the same month, while Vodafone Idea continued to lose ground, shedding over 541,000 users.