Vodafone Idea is caught between tariff hikes and subscriber loss as the telecom operator indicated that it is losing subscribers to BSNL after it raised its tariffs in July. Following the footsteps its bigger rivals, Vodafone Idea raised its tariffs by 10 - 24 per cent across all plans. But it appears that a substantial portion of subscribers have migrated to BSNL, which remains the only operator that has not increased its tariffs.

Akshaya Moondra, Chief Executive Officer at Vodafone Idea, noted during the investor call for Q1FY25 that while a portion of subscribers have migrated to BSNL after the tariff raise, quality-conscious customers are likely to return in the next few months. Moondra added that the operator has begun investing in 4G capital expenditure in critical geographies, hoping to increase the population coverage of the network by 60 million and data capacity of the network by 15 per cent., following which, he further said, Vi will have a total of 2.1 - 2.2 lakh 4G sites. 

However, noting the muted impact of the tariff hike, Moonda said that only 2/3rd of the tariff increase is likely to go through as subscribers quit the network in search for better plans. Analysts indicated that Vodafone Idea’s Average Revenue Per User, or ARPU will increase by 12 per cent after the hike, below the market expectation of 15 per cent.

At this point, Vi remains the only operator which has called out the impact of the tariff increase on its subscriber base. 

In July 2024, right after the elections the Big 3 telecom operators - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea - had raised tariffs across plans offered by the operators. Prices of telecom plans increased between 10 and 24 per cent across all plans in the market. This raise came nearly two years after industry experts indicated that it was desperately needed, especially as telcos invested in 5G capex in the past few years.

Public sector unit BSNL now remains the only operator which has not increased its tariffs. On the flip side, the operator struggles to establish its indigenous 4G network which continues to remain in a limbo. 

Vodafone Idea has narrowed its losses to ₹6,432 crore for the first quarter that ended June 2025, compared with ₹7,675 crore reported in the preceding March 2024 quarter and ₹7,840 crore in the last year quarter.

Revenue from operations in the reporting period declined marginally year-on-year by 1.38% to ₹10,508 crore as against ₹10, 655 crore revenue reported in a year-ago period.

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