bahariduniya.com I Updated : 18 December 2025
India’s top private telecom companies, such as Reliance Jio, Airtel Bharti and Vodafone Idea, are expected to raise prices for both prepaid and postpaid plans by up to 20% next year. These possible price hikes, part of regular tariff revisions, are likely to sharply increase earnings for the telecom industry.
16-20% tarrif hikes across 4G/a5G plans
Mobile customers using prepaid or postpaid services might face higher recharge costs from next year, as telecom operators are likely to increase tariffs by up to 20%, according to Morgan Stanley.
Lately, telecom companies have discontinued low-cost plans or moved perks such as OTT subscriptions to more expensive packs. This has nudged users toward costlier options, boosting the average revenue generated per customer.
Morgan Stanley’s analysts said they are factoring in a 16–20% price hike across 4G and 5G plans in 2026 for both prepaid and postpaid users. They noted that this could lead to “significant ARPU growth for operators in F27.
Who stands to gain the most?
The analysts noted that during previous tariff hikes, Bharti Airtel emerged as one of the major winners, recording much stronger growth in revenue and EBITDA compared to smaller competitors.Airtel, together with competitors Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi), has raised prepaid tariffs three times in the past few years. The operators explained that these increases were necessary to maintain the financial stability of the telecom sector and support their 5G network investments.
In 2019, telecom tariffs saw a steep jump of 15% to 50% across various plans. The hike in 2021 was more moderate, around 20% to 25%. Prices rose once again last year, mostly between 10% and 20%. Analysts had previously anticipated another 15% increase in the 2026 financial year, but that hasn’t materialized yet.
Thanks for Visit BahariDuniya