Bharti Airtel Ltd.

After tweaking its domestic rates, Bharti Airtel has now jacked up its tariffs for international long distance calls to more than 87 countries, including the UAE and Africa. The tariff hike, ranging between 20 and 40 per cent, comes in the backdrop of a 38 per cent decline in the operator's profits in the second quarter this year.

The biggest increase is on calls to Hong Kong, which will now cost Rs 10 a minute, instead of Rs 6.4 a minute earlier. The price of calls to the UAE and some African countries has been hiked by Rs 2 a minute. There is, however, no change in the price of calls to the UK and the US — the two top destinations for international calling.

Idea Cellular had recently increased its ISD tariffs by 15 per cent by fixing a minimum fee of Rs 10 per minute. Other mobile operators are expected to follow suit given that they are keen to improve revenue flows.