data-tariff-cuts

Why Airtel / Idea Cut Mobile Data Rates on 3G/4G Packs ?

by

Idea 4G Rate DropAirtel and Idea recently announced price cuts / Increased Benefits on Pre-Paid 3G / 4G Mobile Data Packs. They have announced steep price cuts on entry-level and high-volume data packs. We expect Vodafone to follow suit soon. Effective cuts come essentially in the form of higher data allowance on smaller packs at one end and higher volume packs at the other end. Effective data realization (per MB) cuts range from 20% to 40% on different packs.

Idea and Airtel have a very Smart Analytics team which suggest the dynamics of pricing in the Indian Wireless market. Both the companies have not touched packs with monthly allowance between 300 MB and 1.5 GB which are the

Read more

What are Telecom Operators Strategies for “Mobile Data” ?

by

Airtel Vodafone Data StrategyWe believe the incumbents lobby led by Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are banking on 3G to lead data growth in India over the next five years. They have 2100MHz (3G spectrum) spectrum in their market leadership service areas, enabling them to participate in data growth in their dominant service areas. Over the next 12-18 months, we believe Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are likely to have pan-Indian 3G spectrum, as they are likely to acquire additional 2100MHz spectrum when the government auctions it later in the year.

Also, we think market leaders are likely to deploy their recently renewed 900MHz (liberalised spectrum) for 3G services over the next 3-5 years

Read more

2G Data Tariff Cut, A Gimmick by Airtel, Vodafone and Tata DoCoMo + Data Potential

by

Mobile Data Tariff Cuts in IndiaIn recent days, Airtel, IDEA, Vodafone and Tata DoCoMo, have cut their “pay-as-you-go” data tariffs by 80-90%. The headlines look catchy, but it applies to only certain plans or when the customer exceeds the existing allowances. Yet again, everyone is following each other, which again shows that trying to differentiate in India is difficult.

For 2G data, Airtel’s data pricing is down to 1p/10 KB, while peers have reduced the price to 2p/ 10 KB from 1-2p per KB – this amounts to 80-90% reduction on the “pay-as-you-go” tariffs. In most of the cases, 2G data price cuts have been done in circles where these telcos didn’t win 3G licenses.

The current data bundles are priced at around 20p/MB or US0.4c/MB, which is cheaper than these ‘pay-as-you-go’ plans. But the ‘pay-asyou- go’ plans could act as a hook to attract new customers (given its convenience) and can also help with churn reduction. Moreover, data penetration rates are currently sub-10% and data revenue contribution is 7-9%. So at this stage, we don’t think these price cuts alone will have a

Read more

How do Mobile / Wireless Tariff Work in India – Beginners Guide

by

In India, different type of prepaid vouchers are available and 95% of the Indian Mobile / Cellular Market is Pre-Paid. We’d like to discuss on the Various types of vouchers in India and How Telecom Tariffs Work ?

What is New Sim card + first recharge (FRC)
New sim card sales provide a customer with a new sim card, a new mobile number. This pack generally provides some talktime and a
basic headline tariff structure valid over a given period.

What is Plan Voucher
After the initial validity is over, the customer uses the plan voucher to enrol in a tariff plan for a certain validity. It does not provide any monetary value.

What are Top-Ups ?
Top-ups only offer monetary value to customer’s account and do not change the tariff plans or validity.

What are Combo Plans
Combo Plans alters one or more items in the tariff plan of the consumer and adds

Read more