Airtel eyes tariff hike mid-year; here’s how telcos’ Arpu stack up

Airtel is likely to hike its tariffs across plans in the middle of the year. “We don’t need more Vodafone-type scenarios in the country… it’s very important that we have robust viable companies which can invest in new technologies, go to rural areas, provide fantastic coverage and capacity,” Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “It (tariff hike) will happen across the board,” he said.

Earlier in February, Bharti Airtel’s CEO Gopal Vittal said average revenue per user (ARPU) needs to rise to Rs 300-level for a respectable return on capital and hoped that it will happen in due course. Telecom companies had hiked tariffs across all slabs in 2019 and 2021.