MAM
Joydeep Ghosh joins as eBus Aidem biz head
MUMBAI: Joydeep Ghosh, a senior industry professional with more than 22 years of experience across media and technology services, has been appointed to head eBus Aidem operations in India.
Ghosh has replaced Ajay Verma who quit to pursue his own entrepreneurial ambitions.
Prior to this, Ghosh, was working with Reliance Communications as General Manager – 3G Project Management Team. He was very actively involved in the launch of the Digital Delivery of Materials service for TV News Channels leveraging the mammoth Reliance Communications optic fibre network and the chain of retail webstores nationwide.
eBUS Singapore CEO Carmine Masiello said, “eBus aidem is at an exciting stage in India with almost all leading broadcast networks (100+ channels) and advertisers (50 out of the top 80) on board and the business is poised to see a strong growth phase in the years ahead. We are very confident that Joydeep will provide the leadership required to steer the company during this growth phase with his experience in media, technology and advertising”.
Aidem India director M Suku said, “The team at eBus Aidem will ensure business continuity and will also strongly contribute to the growth of the eBus business in India with more broadcasters, agencies and advertisers being added every month to the already broad base of current users”.
eBus Aidem business head Ghosh said, “With the Indian market on the verge of offering more than 1000 TV channels, a valuable service like eBus not only enhances the efficiency & productivity in a complex and competitive media market like India, but will also empower advertisers and their agencies to conquer and leverage the daunting logistics of addressing consumers across multiple languages with multiple messaging through the local market channels without bothering about the delivery process.”
Aidem is the exclusive media representative for Al Jazeera, Mi Marathi, Live India, Sahara One, Sahara Filmy and Microsoft Advertising.
Brands
Airtel, Jio, Vi quietly raise tariffs with tweaks ahead of major hike
Airtel, Jio and Vi test subscriber response with subtle plan changes
NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, are quietly reworking their prepaid plans in what appears to be a calculated run-up to a broader tariff hike expected later this year.
Rather than announcing headline-grabbing price increases, the operators are opting for subtle tweaks that are less likely to trigger immediate consumer backlash. Industry observers describe this as a “testing the waters” approach, where small changes help gauge subscriber sensitivity while gradually improving revenues.
Among the most visible moves is plan pruning. Airtel has discontinued its popular Rs 799 pack, widely seen as a high-value offering, while nudging up the price of its Rs 859 plan to Rs 899. The changes may seem marginal, but across millions of users, they translate into meaningful revenue gains.
Reliance Jio, on its part, has taken a sharper route by slashing the validity of its Rs 195 plan from 90 days to just 30 days. The price remains unchanged, but the value per day has dropped steeply, effectively raising costs for consumers without altering headline tariffs.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is restructuring its “NonStopHero” packs, limiting unlimited data benefits to night hours in several circles. The move trims usage flexibility while keeping plan positioning largely intact.
Another common tactic is bundling. Operators are increasingly pairing plans with OTT subscriptions such as streaming services, framing price adjustments as value additions even when the core offering remains largely unchanged.
The broader goal behind these moves is to lift ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), a key profitability metric in the telecom business. Airtel is targeting an ARPU of around Rs 300, up from roughly Rs 250, while Jio is under pressure to demonstrate stronger revenue growth ahead of a potential IPO. For Vodafone Idea, the urgency is more immediate as it seeks higher cash flows to fund 5G expansion and manage outstanding dues.
Industry estimates suggest that these incremental changes are a precursor to a larger, industry-wide tariff hike of 15 to 20 per cent, likely towards the end of 2026. The delay in announcing a full-scale increase is partly due to macroeconomic concerns, including inflation and volatile fuel prices, which could dampen consumer sentiment.
The push to monetise 5G is also gathering pace. After investing more than Rs 3 lakh crore in next-generation networks, operators are expected to gradually phase out free 5G data and reposition it as a premium service.
For consumers, the impact is already visible in small but steady increases in monthly bills. For telcos, however, this is a carefully choreographed build-up, easing users into higher spending before the bigger pricing reset arrives.
