Upward revision likely in broadband tariffs on the cards

Kolkata: The days of ultra-low telecom tariff are now over and the next in line is broadband as current rates are bleeding, an internet service provider said on Sunday.

All the leading telecom majors have raised tariffs by 20 per cent from their respective levels stating the necessity to sustain the business. "Like telecom internet services ARPU (average revenue per customer) for broadband is also required to be corrected as service providers are bleeding in the current war of customer acquisition. A 15-20 per cent rise is necessary to make the current services viable," says Meghbela Broadband co-founder Tapabrata Mukherjee.

Now, to keep with the market trend, Over The Top (OTT) streaming service has to be provided free of charge which is a cost pressure for the internet service providers. He, however, said national telecom leaders like Airtel, Jio will have to take a lead in revising their tariff, otherwise small players will have to keep parity with the current tariff structure to prevent flight of customers.

There had been no indications from the market leaders about restructuring broadband rates. Analysts tracking the sector said leading national players active with urban high value customers were clubbing the services to help improve ARPU, while small regional players have their own edge with wider coverage in their network in low ticket consumer areas where competition is not so aggressive.