Teleco operators withdraw freebies
24 Jan 2013
Top telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have withdrawn certain promotional and special tariff vouchers, a move that would result in increase in mobile calling rates.
The withdrawal of the schemes would lead to subscribers opting for, or moving back to standard vouchers that are comparatively highly priced. The operators, however, maintained that there were no changes in headline tariffs.
''There is no change in the headline tariff. In most circles, we have reduced promotional benefits and free minutes on both acquisition and existing usage. We are committed to enhance value for our customers through continued investments in network, technology, customer experience and life enriching services,'' a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said.
Share prices of Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular also surged over 3 per cent on Wednesday, following the news of withdrawal of freebies.
The companies did not provide specifics of the withdrawal nor the circles from where the tariff plans were pulled out.
''We welcome the price rationalisation for bonus cards, Special Tariff Vouchers and free minutes from our competitors. We feel these were inevitable given the sharp input and energy price increases in the country,'' a Vodafone India spokesperson said.
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