Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular could face a hit of up to 50 per cent on revenue gained from high-tier customers as a result of matching Reliance Jio’s premium tariff, analysts said.

A range of experts warned matching Jio’s Prime tariff would drag down overall revenue, ARPU and profit for India’s other operators, The Economic Times (ET) reported.

However, financial and industry analysts also said operators who didn’t closely match Reliance Jio’s premium tariff, unveiled last month, would risk losing these high spending customers altogether.

The dour forecasts closely followed ET revelations the country’s industry policy maker, the Telecom Commission, had asked regulator TRAI to review its stance on promotional deals and heavily discounted tariffs in the sector.

In a letter from the commission seen by media, it raised concerns about the sector’s financial health and warned low prices could result in the country’s operators being unable to meet commitments – including defaulting on loans or not meeting payments scheduled for spectrum and other assets.

Since the aggressive market entry from Jio last year, India’s largest operators have slashed data prices and introduced a range of offers in a bid to retain customers.

The fierce competitive environment in the country is also leading to consolidation in the sector with Vodafone in talks with Idea Cellular over a merger with its India unit and Bharti Airtel in the process of acquiring Telenor’s operation in the country.