Weeks after BJP MP Raghav Chadha welcomed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Telecom Consumers Protection (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, which provide for 30-day options and plans that renew on the same date each month, mobile users could now face another tariff hike.
News agency ANI on Wednesday cited a Centrum Institutional Research report, which predicts that the could see another 12–15% tariff hike in the next four to five months as the pricing environment becomes more favourable following market consolidation.
The report noted, “The pricing environment has become more favourable with only 3+1 players, and we expect another 12-15% tariff hike over the next 4 to 5 months.”
What does it mean for Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea users?
The tariff increase remains a brokerage forecast, with operators yet to officially announce any changes to their mobile plans. If companies introduce widespread price increases in line with Centrum’s expectations, prepaid and postpaid users could face higher bills across plan categories. The extent of the increase for individual customers would depend on each operator’s changes to prices, validity periods, data limits and bundled benefits.
Hence, customers should wait for official confirmation from their respective operators and should not assume that an existing plan priced at ₹299, ₹349 or any other amount will automatically become more expensive by 12–15%.
Airtel, Jio and Vi likely to see higher ARPU
Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are expected to report a 0.8–2.0% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) in the second quarter of FY27, driven by customers upgrading from 2G to 4G or 5G, growth in postpaid subscriptions and more days in the quarter.
’s ARPU is projected to rise by 2.0% to an industry-leading ₹269 per month, while its revenue is expected to grow by approximately 3.1% QoQ. Reliance Jio’s ARPU is expected to rise by 1% quarter-on-quarter to ₹218 per month, while Vodafone Idea’s blended ARPU is projected to increase by around 0.8% to ₹178 per month.
Major operators to see a rise in subscriber share
According to the report, Airtel and Jio are likely to expand their share of the subscriber market at ’s expense. Jio is projected to add roughly eight million subscribers quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), taking its total to 541 million, while Airtel could gain three million wireless subscribers to reach 380 million. Vodafone Idea is expected to add one million subscribers, bringing its total to 194 million. Centrum also expects data consumption per customer to remain strong as access to 4G and 5G networks expands.
(with ANI inputs)