Congress Questions Centre Over Telecom Firms Hiking Tariffs Together

On 5 July, the Congress questioned how three major mobile service providers in India were permitted to unilaterally hike their tariffs without any oversight or regulation.

Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala criticised the Narendra Modi government for allowing telecom companies to "exploit" 109 crore mobile phone users. He termed it an instance of "crony capitalism" flourishing under the Modi administration, which had "sanctioned profiteering" by private telecom companies.

"Effective from 3 July, three private cell phone companies, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have increased their tariffs by an average of 15 per cent. These three companies hold a market share of 91.6 per cent, accounting for 109 crore cell phone users out of a total of 119 crore users as of 31 December 2023," Surjewala stated at a press conference at the party headquarters.

"Two points are notable: firstly, the announcement of the tariff hike appears to have been made in consultation with each other. Secondly, the date of the tariff hike's implementation is the same," he added.

Citing the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the Congress leader argued that consumers would face an additional burden of Rs 34,824 crore due to the tariff increase.

The mobile service market in India is dominated by an oligopoly of Reliance Jio (48 crore users), Airtel (39 crore users) and Vodafone Idea (22.37 crore users), Surjewala explained.

Providing a breakdown of the hike by Reliance Jio, Surjewala said that from 3 July, the company had increased its charges by 12 per cent to 27 per cent, with an average increase of 20 per cent.

Similarly, for Airtel, Surjewala claimed the company had raised its charges by 11 per cent to 21 per cent, with an average increase of 15 per cent. Vodafone Idea had increased its charges by 10 per cent to 24 per cent, with an average increase of 16 per cent, Surjewala added.

The Congress leader questioned if the Modi government and Trai had abandoned their responsibility towards the 109 crore mobile phone users by allowing telecom companies to unilaterally increase tariffs.

"Was the tariff hike delayed until after the conclusion of the Parliament elections because the Modi government feared being questioned about the justification for burdening 109 crore mobile phone users and extracting an additional Rs 34,824 crore from them?" Surjewala asked.