Airtel, Voda Idea raise global roaming rates by up to 25%

MUMBAI: Subscribers of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea travelling abroad will have to pay more as India’s two older mobile phone companies have increased their international roaming (IR) prices by as much as 20%, in a step to boost revenue and margins.

The latest pricing moves by the two telecom operators come soon after they unveiled minimum recharge plans and increased rates on some tariff plans. Experts add that going forward, there are likely to be more such tweaks in tariff plans — local and roaming — as incumbent telcos focus on getting back into the black over time.

SIM card provider Matrix, on its part, said it is hopeful that it can take advantage and grab 20% of the overseas travelling customer base from telcos by offering them prices lower than what operators are offering.


India’s largest telco, Vodafone Idea, is offering its international roaming plans at Rs 599, Rs 2,999, Rs 3,999, and Rs 5,999. These have been revised from the previous rates of Rs 500, Rs 2,500, Rs 3,500, and Rs 5,500 for the same set of benefits.

Similarly, Airtel, the second-largest telco, increased its price plan for a 10-day package for popular destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia, by 25% to Rs 1,499 and its roaming rates to the US, the UK, Europe, Indonesia and the UAE for 10 days, by 20% to Rs 3,599.

“The telcos are playing on two counts — one is that the high-end post-paid subscribers are generally lesser price sensitive to such changes; second, the two companies are, rightly, also taking bets in an area where Reliance Jio is still behind,” said Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Bharti Airtel (India).

Airtel and Vodafone Idea’s bitter rival Reliance Jio, which offers a 4G VoLTE only network, has a limited international roaming presence, a fact that the older operators appear to be trying to cash in on, said experts. Jio has not made any changes to its plans.

International travellers, although a small percentage of subscribers, belong to the higher revenue generating bracket who need to be retained at any cost. Analysts say it is most important to retain or acquire these customers because they provide highest return on investments.

“This is not a surprise… some segments are less sensitive to tariff increase,” said Bharat Bhargava, partner, telecom advisory services for EY, adding that telcos are seeking “a reasonable return on their investment”. The international roaming segment has grown at a sharp 15% CAGR in the last two years, and is expected to grow another 15% in about two years.

The two telcos have been slowly weaving in changes in their price plans even on the domestic front to improve their average revenue per user (ARPU) — a key performance metric. Recently, to ensure customers remain active and keep billing, the number 1 and 2 operators introduced packs with minimum recharges so that customers keep billing and weed out those who only use the services for free incoming calls.

The efforts have started showing results with the respective ARPUs reversing a falling trend to grow — albeit marginally — in the October-December quarter, a trend which is expected to continue, said analysts. Losses for their India operations however, widened.

Airtel defended its move by saying that it continued to offer its customers the “most competitive proposition in the industry” and has also done away with the Rs 149 activation fee.

“In US dollar terms, the pricing of Airtel’s IR packs has been stable,” said the company spokesperson. “We have simplified our IR pack pricing by dividing our industry best footprint of 175 countries into four global zones and made it very convenient for customers to take their Airtel mobile to all popular global destinations without worrying about bill shocks.”

Vodafone Idea did not respond to ET’s queries.