Mobile users across India could soon see a spike in their mobile recharge costs, with telecom companies reportedly preparing another round of tariff hikes by the end of 2025. According to a report by brokerage firm Jefferies, analysts anticipate a 10-12 percent increase in mobile plan rates, driven by sustained user growth and preparations for 5G services.
This price revision follows the hike in July 2024, when base plan tariffs were raised between 11 percent and 23 percent. Industry experts suggest that telecom operators are now encouraged by the fifth consecutive month of net user additions in May 2025 — a trend that has strengthened their position to increase prices once more.
In May alone, the number of active mobile users touched a 29-month high, reaching nearly 1.08 billion. Reliance Jio led the surge, adding 5.5 million active users and expanding its market share to 53 percent, a 150 basis point jump. Bharti Airtel followed with 1.3 million additions, while Vodafone Idea continued to lose subscribers.
Changing market dynamics — dominated by Jio and Airtel — present a favorable opportunity for a new pricing structure. Upcoming tariffs may incorporate tiered pricing based on usage patterns, data speeds, or time of use. These could also include reduced data allowances to encourage users to buy extra data packs.
Analysts believe telecom providers will focus on targeting mid-to-premium segment customers more aggressively, while trying to cushion the impact on lower-end users.
This comes at a time when Starlink is gearing up to launch in India. SpaceX signed agreements with both - Ambani's Reliance Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel for the deployment of Starlink. Starlink offers fast internet with low delay, making it suitable even for remote areas with limited connectivity. This could give telecom operators a further boost to increase costs on mobile recharge.
