The telecom industry has taught us a lot of lessons about doing business in a steep competition. After the advent of Jio, the telecom industry got shaken. We saw small telecoms such as Aircel and Tata Docomo vanish, while the larger telcos such as Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea got into extreme pressure to keep their businesses intact.
While Jio inevitably ended the data monopoly in India and made us the cheapest data consumer globally, it also put the competitor telecoms into pressure. On one side, there was a revenue crisis, while on the other hand, there was the fear of losing out customers. And ultimately, both hit them badly.
Recently, the Supreme Court of India has asked the telecoms to pay up their spectrum dues. Reliance Jio, Bharati Airtel, and Vodafone Idea paid Rs1053Cr., Rs1950Cr., and Rs3043Cr. Respectively, as of 3rd March 2020.
Now, Vodafone Idea has announced that they are going to take the premium way to recover their losses. They will have to pay a total of Rs53000Cr all total. Hence, they will increase their tariff plans up to 7-8 times, from April 2020 onwards. There might also be an additional monthly charge for using the sim.
Before I give you the details, please note that these are only proposed by Vodafone Idea. A new tariff plan has not been made yet. We will update this page as soon as we get a new tariff plan list for April 2020. So, keep checking this page regularly for updates.
So, let’s proceed to the details.
Vodafone Idea Proposed Tariff Plans, April 2020:
- The present cost of data per GB is Rs3-4 under unlimited plans. It will be increased to Rs35 per GB, which is a sharp 1054% increase.
- The customers will also need to pay a fixed monthly connection fee Rs50 per month, to keep the sim active. This fee will be over and above the regular unlimited plans.
- Vodafone Idea will also end its free voice calling scheme from their unlimited plans, and charge six paise per minute for calls. It is not clear whether the charge will be for all calls or only off-net calls. However, I think it’s the latter.
What does it mean for you:
So these are the plans for Vodafone to recover their losses. In one instance, it seems crazy.
Put, if you consume 1GB per day, the monthly plan will shot up to Rs(35*30)= Rs1050, which is just insane. Nobody will pay such a vast amount.
I guess Vodafone will switch back to earlier regimes and bundle limited data options, such as 10GB data for Rs350 per month, with free on-net calls, and 6paisa per off-net requests. They might customize the plans according to the data they offer, and the prices will vary accordingly.
I think this should have been done by them ages ago. Instead of running under losses to retain customers, they should have focused on high paying customers, and provide them better services.
Nothing could go on for free forever. And free stuff always encourages misuse. That will reduce now.
Yes, Vodafone Idea will lose customers, but that will, in turn, decongest the network, providing better connectivity and internet strength.
All free things must end someday, and I am glad this is happening finally.
FAQ:
Q: Is this plan also applicable for Postpaid users?
Ans: No, these updated tariffs are just for prepaid plan users. Vodafone Idea Postpaid users need not worry. The Postpaid plans will remain the same. Notably, the postpaid plans are on the higher end from the beginning only.
Q: I am a Vodafone Prepaid User. Can I recharge now at current lower rates?
Ans: Yes. Absolutely. You can recharge your number at current rates. But I suggest not to recharge right now. The newer tariff plans have not been introduced yet. I suggest you wait and see the newer tariffs. You will still get some time to recharge at current rates. We will update the plans in this page. Keep visiting this page regularly for updates.
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Last Words:
I am using Airtel sim for the past 1.5 years, and currently, I am in a state where I am ready to pay higher, but I am still not getting excellent services in return. Airtel was right to introduce Wifi Calling after Jio, which solved my indoor calling connectivity issues. But the overall 4G Internet speeds I’m getting outside still sucks for the most part.
We are not ready for 5G at all. I hope the 4G speeds improve, especially in congested areas. This increment in prices will ultimately help it.
That’s all about Vodafone Idea tariff plans in April 2020. If you have further queries, comment below, I will be happy to help you out. And do share this post with your friends who are using Vodafone Idea and let them know about these changes in advance so that they don’t get a shock at once.
That’s all for now. Thank You for reading until the end. I will be back again with another useful update. Stay tuned!
Nirmal Sarkar is a Biotechnologist from the city of Joy, Kolkata. He is the founder of this blog and covers a wide range of topics from Gadgets to Software to Latest Offers. You can get in touch with him via nirmal@hitricks.com
