Vodafone Idea urges government to set minimum mobile data tariff at Rs 35 per GB

Vodafone Idea has reportedly urged government to set minimum tariff rate at Rs 35 per GB of mobile data, which will be approximately 7-8 times of current prices. For voice calls, it has urged government to make it 6 paise per minute along with Rs 50 every month as connectivity charges from April 1.

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Vodafone Idea has sought 18 years to clear dues

struggling telecom operator has me such requests to be able to pay statutory dues and make its business sustainable again. debt-ridden telecom operator is currently under severe pressure to clear off justed gross revenue (AGR) dues of over Rs 53,000 crores in order to comply with a Supreme Court order. It has also requested 18 years to clear dues with a moratorium of three years on payment of interest and penalty, as per reports.

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Vodafone attributes financial stress to below-cost pricing

In a letter to department of telecommunications, Vodafone Idea stated that root cause of company’s financial stress has been below-cost pricing structure of telecom services which h been forced upon m by competitive pressures in industry.

company also ted that re has been some increase in market prices since December 2019; however, it believes that it is actually far from eugh to cover ir costs. It ded that a furr increase in price is unlikely if re are grounds for regulating prices, as largest data player in market is still priced much lower than or players in telecom business. Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices are or two telecom operators with major dues pending after Vodafone Idea.

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As reported by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in August 2019, 1 GB of mobile data which would cost Rs 226 in 2015 went all way down to Rs 11 in just three years. As of w, Vodafone Idea subscribers pay as little as Rs 7.8 for 1 GB of mobile data per day with ir 28-day plan priced at Rs 219, which also includes unlimited calling.

As for company’s Rs 249 plan, it offers 1 GB data per day and costs a mere Rs 6, carrying a validity of 28 days. In contrast, its competitor Reliance Jio provides 1 GB of mobile data for as low as Rs 5 as part of ir basic Jio plan.

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