Airtel CEO says tariff hike must as current charges unsustainable

NEW DELHI: Prices of data and voice services need to be increased as the current levels of tariff are unsustainable for the industry, Bharti Airtel Ltd chief executive Gopal Vittal said on Wednesday.

Vittal, who was addressing analysts at a post-earnings conference call, did not give a timeline on the tariff hike but expressed confidence about a price rise in the future. He said the telco aims to achieve an average revenue per user (Arpu) of ₹200 and ₹300 eventually.

“We are at a premium (in terms of tariff hike). In the telecom space, you can have a premium but it becomes unsustainable after a point. We do not want to slow down our growth,” Vittal said when asked about why Airtel does not want to take the lead in tariff hike.