Last Updated on November 23, 2018 10:37 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Another shocker for mobile users
Sanjay Singh/ New Delhi
As telecom companies face stiff competition that has massively affected their revenues, they are now mulling to soon do away with life-time free incoming plans by charging a minimum amount from subscribers to keep their number in use.
Telecom companies feel that the aggressive competition in the market led by Mukesh-Ambani’s Reliance Jio (RJIO) has led them to take stringent measures to stay afloat.
If telcos take a call on it, mobile users will no longer be able to avail life-time free incoming calls. This comes as a shock for many users. However it shouldn’t be confused with minute-by-minute incoming charges. Telecom companies will not charge incoming calls per minute. Mobile users will have to recharge with a minimum amount for a certain validity period to enjoy the free incoming calls.
Leading telecom company, Bharti Airtel has launched a couple of minimum recharge plans for Rs 35, Rs 65 and Rs 95. These recharge plans come with data, tariff cutter, talk-time and 28 days of validity.
Similarly Vodafone-Idea has said that the company is doing away with life-time free plans as a way to boost revenue by charging at least Rs 30 a month from such subscribers who are “substantial” in number.
In the September 2018 quarter, Reliance Jio Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was Rs 131.7 followed by Airtel at Rs 101 while it was Rs 88 for Vodafone Idea. The latter merged recently.