Idea, Vodafone end one paisa tariff

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Taking a leaf from telecom giant Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone also increased tariffs on their pre-paid plans in select regions while Bharti expanded its new tariffs to other circles, officials familiar with the development said on Thursday.

Idea has increased its tariff from 1 paisa per second to 1.2 paisa per second for calls made from Idea to other networks including both local and STD calls in the Delhi region under the per second billing scheme.

The operator had so far been offering its customers 1 paisa per second billing plan for local and STD calls made from Idea to Idea network as well as from Idea to other networks.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel also expanded its tariff hike plans during the course of the weekend.

The telecom operator, which had Friday announced a 20-25 per cent hike in its tariffs in selected regions across the country including Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat has expanded its tariff plans to a total of 18 circles.

"We have finally rolled out new tariff plans across 18 circles. The ones that have not been covered till now are UP West, Haryana, Mumbai and Orissa," a senior executive of Bharti Airtel told the media on the basis of anonymity.

With the entry of new players and the ensuing tariff wars, the high priced bidding for 3G auctions, which saw top operators like Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications coughing up Rs.12,295 crore and Rs.8,583 crore respectively, had led to margins being hammered.

Bharti had in fact paid an additional Rs.3,314 crore for acquiring BWA spectrum as well.

Bharti's move gave a break to the cut-throat competition among telecom operators offering dirt cheap tariffs.

Idea's tariff hikes are also effective in other regions where the company provides its services including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, however the plans differ slightly from one place to another.

"We don't have one strategy plan in all circles," a senior executive of Idea Cellular told IANS on the basis of anonymity.

Vodafone on the other hand has changed its tariffs in 12 circles from 1 paisa per second to 1.2 paisa or 1.5 paisa, subjective to the regions.