Airtel hikes ISD call rates by 80 percent, Idea by 25 percent

Telecom service provider Airtel recently increased its international call rates by up to 80 percent starting this month, according to reports. The move was spurred mainly by the impact of the depreciation in the rupee. Following Airtel, Idea Cellular has also hiked up its international call rates by up to 25 percent, according to the company’s official website.

From what can be seen, the current call rates to countries like the US, the UK and Canada have been pushed up to Rs 8 per minute, up from the Rs 6.40 that was charged per minute earlier. The maximum hike seen in the rates has come from Airtel for calls made for special services in Australia. The move will come into effect from October 10, according to the source, although both official websites are stating that the new tariffs have already been revised. Calls made to Australian numbers with ISD code 6113 and 6114 have been raised from Rs 100 to stand at a staggering Rs 180.

An Airtel spokesperson was reported saying that “the strengthening dollar has put tremendous pressure on rate realisation in the ISD segments which Bharti Airtel had been absorbing till now. However, due to the recent steep fluctuations, this cost structure has become unviable resulting in corrections in ISD tariffs.” There has not been any official statement reported from Idea Cellular about this matter.

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Airtel and Idea hike up their ISD call rates (Image Source: Getty Images)

Websites of both Airtel and Idea show the calling rate having increased to almost Rs 12 per minute for most countries, up from the Rs 10 per minute being charged earlier. Other countries with a higher calling rate have also seen an increase, now charging Rs 17 to Rs 20 for a minute, increasing the earlier Rs 15 per minute rate. Some other ISD rates have been hiked to Rs 60 a minute as compared to Rs 50 a minute. Some other countries on the list now charge Rs 120 per minute, a jump from the Rs 100 per minute that was charged earlier.

It has been noted by the source, though, that in case of calls to Germany, Airtel has maintained older rates on certain codes. Idea, on the other hand, has changed the call rates to certain destinations in Germany by almost 20 percent. In some German destinations, the call rates on Idea’s network are reportedly 88 percent lower than what is being offered by Airtel.

All in all, though, this is grim news for users wanting to make international calls without burning a hole in their pockets. However, a possible solution to this could be the rise of free instant messaging services that add video and voice call options to their services. Candidates in this list include Line, Viber and Skype, all of which offer free voice calling features for their users.