Idea prepaid tariffs hiked

Alot has been happening on the telecom front as TRAI has been making several implementations over the last few months. Owing to all changes and the spectrum charges, last month Airtel chief had clearly stated a possibility of rise in tariffs. "We will favour affordable service which should be viable for industry... Who will gain if our business is shut down,” he had said. The tariff hikes have now started to show up. According to Telecom Talk, Idea has already increased their tariffs for their existing prepaid subscribers and is now said to charge 1.3 paise per second, instead of the usual 1.2 paise in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Apparently, the same tariff could be further offered to other circles, too. Idea offers a Rs.3 voucher, which would shift the customer to 1.3 paisa per sec, instead of 1.2 paisa for Local and STD and 1.5 paisa per sec for fixed line.

Bad idea..!

Reportedly, major telcos offer new customers with 1 paise per second via the Special Value component, which is also known as the tariff cutter portion of the First recharge Voucher. Basically, it means new customers get an introductory tariff of 1 paise per 2 seconds, and after the validity period of 90 days they are charged 1.2 paise per second. This has been followed by all operators, such as Airtel, Idea and Vodafone who have been doing so to ensure value for money for their new customers. However, from April 1, existing customers i.e. who have crossed 90 days will be charged 1.3 paise per second.

Reportedly, the tariff websites of telecom operators, like Airtel and Vodafone still show 1.2 paise per second and only Idea has made the change with the rise in tariffs, so far. We had seen Idea introduce their ‘Idea Lifeline’ concept, last month which allowed making calls during emergency. Idea Prepaid customers can avail of the credit balance anytime, anywhere by simply dialing 53567 (Toll Free) from their mobile phones.