Bharti Airtel says raises voice call prices in India

NEW DELHI Jan 23 (Reuters) - Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile phone carrier, said on Wednesday it has raised voice call prices to account for rising costs, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.

"We have been reiterating that increase in prices is inevitable, which is reflected from the fact that despite rising costs, tariffs have been falling over the past 12 quarters," Bharti Airtel said in a statement. The company gave no detail of the call price increase.

A source with direct knowledge separately told Reuters that Bharti Airtel is reducing free minutes by up to a quarter and has increased prices of some call vouchers for prepaid customers by 5-15 rupees.

The call price increase will be extended to all of India's 22 telecommunications zones in a phased manner, the source said, declining to be named. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)