Telecom Lead Asia: Mobile service provider Vodafone has
increased tariffs for postpaid customers in the Mumbai telecom circle by 20
percent.
The company had extended a similar increase last year for
prepaid users.
Carriers including the Vodafone unit and market leader
Bharti Airtel raised tariffs for prepaid users by about a fifth in the middle
of last year in the first such increase in at least two years in the fiercely
competitive sector.
India, with more than 900 million customers, has one of
the cheapest call prices in the world, and most customers use prepaid deals.
About 5 percent of Vodafone customers in India are on a
postpaid connection.
Vodafone India increases mobile rates by 20% for post-paid
subscribers
In January 2012, Vodafone India increased mobile calling
rates by 20 percent for post-paid customers in Delhi.
The telecom operator has increased calling rates for
local and STD mobile calls to 1.20 paise / second from 1 paise / second. Call
rates have been revised for all local and STD landlines to 1.5 paise / second.
Vodafone India, in September 2011 quarter, reported
service revenue growth of 20.1 percent at 2,095 million pounds, reflecting
improving underlying growth boosted by new SMS termination charges in the
Indian market.
During the quarter, EBITDA grew by 14.8 percent driven by
the increase in revenue and economies of scale, partially offset by higher
customer acquisition costs and increased interconnection costs.
Voice revenue of Vodafone India was 1,621 million pounds,
messaging revenue 107 million pounds and data revenue 176 million pounds.
The company in its financial report observed that while
the Indian telecom market remains highly competitive, the effective rate per
minute is stabilizing as operators increase headline voice tariffs and focus on
promotional offers.
