New Tariff Hike Should Happen in Next 6 Months: Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal

In India, the telecom operators are struggling a lot in the financial aspect. A lot has been told about the Indian telecom industry in the last six months, but telcos are striving to offer services during these tough times. And to improve their financial stability, telcos need to increase the tariff prices. The last tariff hike happened in December 2019, which had a very positive impact on Bharti Airtel ARPU.

But the former leading telecom operator Airtel is unstoppable. Now, Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel shared that a new tariff hike should happen in the next six months so that the ARPU can increase further. As we already know, Bharti Airtel is trying for an ARPU or Average Revenue per User of Rs 300 in future.

Airtel Aims at Achieving Rs 300 ARPU in Future

The Reliance Jio entry left the Indian telecom market shattered. As of now, Jio is the leading telecom operator when it comes to the subscriber base. But in terms of ARPU, Airtel is leading as it is mainly focussing on revenue-generating customers. Communicating to PTI, Sunil Bharti Mittal shared that the current data prices in India are not sustainable, not only for Airtel but also for the entire telecom industry. Mittal mentioned that the consumption of 16GB data a month for just Rs 160 is a tragedy.

"You either consume 1.6GB of capacity per month either at this price point, or you may prepare to pay a lot more. We are not wanting $50-60 like the U.S. or Europe but certainly, $2 for 16GB per month is not sustainable," Mittal said at an event, reported PTI.

In Q1 FY21 Bharti Airtel reported Rs 157 ARPU, and at present, it is the only telco with an ARPU of Rs 150 in India. Sunil Mittal expects the Bharti Airtel ARPU to cross Rs 200 in the next six months, owing to digital content consumption. The prepaid plans addition with Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription will further boost the Airtel ARPU.

Additionally, Airtel is also trying its best to achieve Rs 300 ARPU in the coming quarters, but that will depend on the tariff hike impact, which is expected to materialise in the next six months.