No tariff hike expected till 2023

Telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are not looking at higher tariffs for 5G services during the initial level of launch in metro cities by Diwali. Low penetration of 5G-enabled handsets and some technical limitations arising due to the inability of a bulk of these handsets in supporting certain spectrum bands are the key reasons cited by company executives for such a move.

Instead of coming out with new 5G packs, which are priced higher than the current 4G ones, the two players are likely to upgrade users of certain tariff plans to 5G. This can be done easily as no change of SIM card is required to upgrade subscribers from 4G to 5G as was the case in migration from 3G to 4G. Further, since the service providers would be able to make out which subscribers have 5G-enabled phones, direct messages can be sent to them regarding their upgrade at no extra cost.

Telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are not looking at higher tariffs for 5G services during the initial level of launch in metro cities by Diwali. Low penetration of 5G-enabled handsets and some technical limitations arising due to the inability of a bulk of these handsets in supporting certain spectrum bands are the key reasons cited by company executives for such a move.

Instead of coming out with new 5G packs, which are priced higher than the current 4G ones, the two players are likely to upgrade users of certain tariff plans to 5G. This can be done easily as no change of SIM card is required to upgrade subscribers from 4G to 5G as was the case in migration from 3G to 4G. Further, since the service providers would be able to make out which subscribers have 5G-enabled phones, direct messages can be sent to them regarding their upgrade at no extra cost. Financial Express