Telcos urge global vendors to absorb duty hike

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea pressed Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung to absorb a new 5% customs duty hike on PCBAs. They claimed it would affect their 4G/5G rollouts and dilution of tariff hike benefits. Jio and Airtel are also preparing for significant 5G network gear investments.