Steep telecom tariff hikes may slow shift to smartphones

New Delhi: The steep tariff hikes in the telecom industry announced over the past two days are likely to increase the base of 4G feature phone users since they are the least impacted by the revised rates, and may slow down their migration to 5G smartphones, according to industry executives and market trackers.

The price increases may also lead to increased activity from smartphone brands in bundling free data with new purchases, to spur handset sales, they said.