Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has announced the list of revised mobile tariffs, which will come into effect from November 26.
Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has announced the list of revised mobile tariffs, which will come into effect from November 26. Revising tariffs is the first step to ensure that the mobile Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) remains between Rs 200-300 to ensure a financially healthy business model. The Rs 79 plan, for instance, will cost Rs 99 from November 26.
“Bharti Airtel has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue per Unit (ARPU) needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300, so as to provide a reasonable return on capital that allows for a financially healthy business model,” the official release read.
It further noted that this level of ARPU will help in getting investments for networks and spectrum apart from giving the telecom behemoth “the elbow room to roll out 5G in India.” The plan, which has a validity of 28 days, offers 50 percent more talk-time at 99 minutes, 200MB data and 1 paise/second voice tariff.
“We all know that Indian tariffs are very, very low—lower than most places in the world and even in emerging markets. We are not seeking the $50-70 monthly ARPU the western world enjoys. The fact is that the current tariff levels aren’t sustainable. How far this can go will have to be seen. But yes, I would agree with you that, especially for weaker players, lower tariffs are a very large burden on them to grow,” Airtel boss Sunil Bharti Mittal told Business Today TV’s Global Business Editor Udayan Mukherjee on The Business Today Show last month on the possible increase in tariffs.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel reported 300 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth in net profit for the quarter ended September 30. It had reported a loss of Rs 763.20 crore in the same quarter last year. The bottom line of the telecom major went up Rs 1,134 crore from Rs 283.50 crore in the preceding quarter ended June 30.
Revenue from operations rose by 5.48 percent QoQ and 13.03 percent YoY to Rs 28,326.40 crore and consolidated EBITDA went up 24.50 percent YoY to Rs 14,018 crore. Airtel’s ARPU figures reached Rs 153 versus Rs 143 in Q1FY22 while its customer base stood at ~48 crore in around 16 countries.
