Bharti Airtel, India s largest telecom company, may take the lead in implementing overall tariff hikes but will not charge extra for 5G services at this time. Gopal Vittal, the managing director, emphasized that the focus is on making the telecom industry viable through vibrant competition and affordable tariffs, with financial viability. Vittal also raised concerns about international tech players testing the delivery of messages, including OTPs, over platforms other than SMS, as it can lead to phishing, fraud, and spam issues for which telcos can be held liable.
Airtel: “We may do that (take the lead on hiking tariffs) at some stage. We took up the prices of the entry level plans unilaterally. We did not see competition follow but we did it. We are also making some adjustments in some of the smaller plans,” Vittal said.