The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) expects mobile tariffs in the country to go up in the long run as a result of huge outgo on the operator?s part in the ongoing spectrum auction.
As per the industry body representing GSM operators, the increase in tariff for telecom services will be gradual and spread out over a year as a result of investment in new equipment and rollout of services by the operators. COAI is of the view that with the steady rise in input costs of operators over the past few years, operators have no option but to increase tariffs for telecom services.
Country?s leading operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Reliance Communications are participating in the ongoing 2G and 3G auctions with an aim to retain their existing spectrum holdings in select circles. Meanwhile, service providers including Reliance Jio Infocomm, Uninor, Tata Teleservices Limited and Aircel are participating in the spectrum auction for acquiring additional spectrum.
