Mobile recharge charge may be increased in 2026
India’s major telecom companies, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, may increase the prices of both prepaid and postpaid plans by up to 20% in 2026. This is part of a regular tariff revision and is expected to boost the telecom industry’s revenue.
According to a report by Morgan Stanley, telecom companies could raise tariffs for both 4G and 5G plans by 16-20 percent in 2026. This is projected to increase the companies’ earnings in the financial year 2027, and the average revenue per user (ARPU) is also expected to rise significantly. To increase their revenue, companies are discontinuing cheaper plans and bundling benefits like OTT subscriptions into more expensive plans. This will force customers to choose costlier plans, impacting their budgets.
It is being reported that telecom company Airtel will benefit the most from this tariff hike. Morgan Stanley, in its report, stated that when tariffs were increased previously, Bharti Airtel was among the companies that saw a significant increase in revenue/EBITDA compared to weaker competitors.
In recent years, Airtel, along with Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi), has increased prepaid prices three times. At the time, the companies stated that these increases were necessary to maintain a healthy telecom business and to invest in 5G networks.
