After Jio, Bharti Airtel announces 10-21 pc hike in mobile tariffs
Vodafone Idea to raise mobile tariff by 11-24 pc from Jul 4
New Delhi, Jun 28: Bharti Airtel on Friday announced between 10-21 per cent hike in mobile tariffs, a day after larger rival Reliance Jio announced an increase in rates.
Airtel, in a release, said that the revision in mobile tariffs will be effective from July 3.
"We have ensured that there is a very modest price increase (less than 70 paise per day) on entry-level plans, in order to eliminate any burden on budget challenged consumers," the Sunil Mittal-led telecom firm said announcing the revision in mobile tariffs.
Bharti Airtel said it has maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) needs to be upwards of Rs 300, to enable a financially healthy business model for telcos in India.
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"We believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in network technology and spectrum and offer a modest return on capital," the telco said.
Among the unlimited voice plans, Airtel has raised tariffs in the ballpark range of about 11 per cent, and accordingly rates are revised from Rs 179 to Rs 199; from Rs 455 to Rs 509; and from Rs 1,799 to Rs 1,999. In the daily data plan category, the Rs 479 plan has been increased to Rs 579 (20.8 per cent increase).
The mobile tariff hike from mobile operators comes immediately after the 10th spectrum auction, which ended in just two days with muted response from the industry.
Loss-making telecom operator Vodafone Idea will raise mobile tariffs across the board by 11-24 per cent from July 4, according to a company statement.
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel will roll out increased mobile service rates from July 3 onward.
"In line with its commitment to provide its consumers with simple and comprehensive plans, Vi has curated an optimum range of feature-rich plans to meet the diverse needs of its consumers. Staying true to its philosophy of supporting entry-level users and progressively linking higher prices to increased usage, changes in entry-level plans are nominal," Vi said.
The company has raised the entry-level plan, minimum recharge value for 28 days of mobile service, by about 11 per cent to Rs 199 from Rs 179.
Vi has raised the price of a popular 84-day validity plan with 1.5 GB data per day to Rs 859 from Rs 719 earlier.
The company has increased the price of its annual unlimited plan by about 21 per cent to Rs 3,499 from 2,899 at present.
It has made no change in its 365 validity plan with a 24 GB data limit, which costs users Rs 1,799.
"Vi is planning significant investments over the next few quarters to further enhance the 4G experience as well as launch 5G services," the statement said.
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Ahmedabad awaits runs from Abhishek's bat as India look to improve spin play
Ahmedabad (PTI): A peerless India will be hoping that Abhishek Sharma returns to his destructive ways and the other batters up their game against spin when the side takes the field for its final T20 World Cup league fixture against the Netherlands here on Wednesday.
Having established himself as one of the most dangerous batters in the game over the last 18 months, Abhishek is yet to go ballistic in the ICC event at home thus far.
After a nought in the opener, a stomach infection forced him out of the game against Namibia. He returned for the high stakes Pakistan contest but failed to get a run for the second time in as many matches.
But with Ishan Kishan showing imperious form at the other end, the lack of runs from Abhishek's bat have not impacted the team's cause.
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To be fair to the 25-year-old, his high-risk play has resulted in multiple wins for India and perhaps it is only a matter of time before he makes the best of bowlers look ordinary again.
However, four ducks in his last six innings do suggest that he may need to review his plans in the powerplay.
Considering his intimidating credentials, it is clear that teams have spent extra time in preparation to tackle the India opener.
By his own admission, Abhishek doesn't have the wide range of shots possessed by others in the line-up and he relies on the use of crease and his free flowing bat swing to scare the daylights out of the opposition.
He likes to target the deep cover boundary in powerplay and starting with the USA game, teams have been smart to deploy a fielder in that region.
Pakistan also had set a similar field for him on Sunday that also included a deep mid-wicket, mindful that he doesn't attempt shots behind the wicket often.
With India already through to the next stage of the tournament, the Netherlands game presents an ideal opportunity for him to get back among the runs.
India managed to make short work of Pakistan, thanks to a sublime effort from Kishan and the bowlers. However, for the second game in a row, the batters did not show the conviction displayed by Kishan.
After Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was able to trouble the Indian batters with his round arm and behind the stumps variations, another unorthodox spinner, Usman Tariq, was able to keep them quiet in the Pakistan clash.
Even Saim Ayub was effective against the Indians.
With due respect to the Netherlands attack, their quality of spinners are not in the same league even though Aryan Dutt and Roelof van der Merwe have been around for a while.
On the bowling front, India have the option to rest a few bowlers before the Super 8s and that includes pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
After picking Kuldeep Yadav over Arshdeep Singh as the extra spin option in Colombo, the team management is expected to go back to the two specialist pacers combination.
If Bumrah is rested, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep are expected to start.
The two likely spinners will be Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel.
The Netherlands would need drastic improvement in their batting and bowling to compete with the defending champions. They lost heavily to USA in their previous game after a convincing win over Namibia.
Ahmedabad has produced the highest total of the games played in India thus far -- 213/4 that South Africa scored in their opener against Canada -- but in the last two games, teams batting first have not managed to cross the 200-run mark.
Even with the Indian involvement, it would be a challenge to pack the world's largest cricket stadium on a pleasant Wednesday evening.
Teams (from):
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India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.
Netherlands: Scott Edwards (c), Colin Ackermann, Noah Croes, Bas de Leede, Aryan Dutt, Fred Klaassen, Kyle Klein, Michael Levitt, Zach Lion-Cachet, Max O'Dowd, Logan van Beek, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar.
