Customers porting to BSNL after tariff hike: Vodafone Idea CEO

NEW DELHI: Many Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) customers are porting to the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) following a tariff increase by telecom companies in July 2024, said Vodafone Idea’s Chief Executive Officer, Akshaya Moondra.

Moondra, during the Q1 earnings conference call, noted that the reason for this migration is that BSNL has not raised its tariffs. However, he expressed that while Vodafone Idea’s customers might have initially switched providers due to the tariff hike, they are likely to return after experiencing differences in coverage and 4G service quality. In July 2024, private telecom operators raised tariffs by up to 25% for postpaid and prepaid plans.

“One of the trends we have seen is that the port-out to BSNL has generally increased from the pre-tariff increase levels, which is a space that we are watching,” said Moondra.

The debt-laden telecom reported a consolidated net loss of ₹6,432 crore, compared to a net loss of ₹7,840 crore in the same period last year. Revenue decreased by 1.3% to ₹10,508.3 crore.