Cong slams govt for 'permitting' telcos to hike mobile tariff

Congress on Friday slammed the BJP-led Central government after the three private cell phone companies increased the tariff of the mobile phones, saying that it has put an additional burden of over Rs 35,000 crore on over 109 crore subscribers.

The party also questioned that how can all private cellphone companies increase their average tariffs by the same range of 15 per cent to 16 per cent, despite the fact that their profitability, investment and CAPEX requirements are completely different and why is the Modi government then turning a blind eye to the same.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, senior party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said effective July 3 this year, the three private cellphone companies -- Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea-- have increased their tariffs by an average of 15 per cent.

He highlighted that the three private cellphone companies have a market share of 91.6 per cent, or 109 crore cellphone users out of a total of 119 crore cellphone users as on December 31, 2023.

The total additional yearly payment from the pockets of the common man and woman of India seeking connectivity is Rs 34,824 crore, he said citing the TRAI Report dated April 23, 2024.