Your phone bill just got more expensive—but what’s behind the hike?
The issue was raised in Parliament when Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala questioned the government on a major tariff increase. He pointed out that on July 3, 2024, telecom companies collectively raised mobile tariffs, adding an extra ₹34,824 crore in costs for 119 crore users. That translates to an additional ₹292 per user annually.
This has sparked debate—wasn’t mobile data supposed to be getting cheaper?
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia defended the telecom sector, emphasizing that call and data costs have dropped drastically over the years. "One-minute calls cost 50 paise in 2014. Today, it's just three paise—a 94% drop," he stated.
However, there’s another side to the story. While tariffs have fallen significantly over the past decade, prices are now creeping up again due to heavy investments in 5G infrastructure.
Despite these increases, India’s mobile connectivity has seen massive growth. The country now has 116 crore mobile subscribers and 97.44 crore internet users—a sharp rise from just 90 crore and 25 crore, respectively, in 2014.
But the big question remains—will affordable data become a thing of the past? And will the government intervene before telecom prices climb even higher?
