Need to hike tariff, ARPU must near Rs 200: Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal

Bharti Airtel has stressed on the need to raise its average revenue per user (ARPU) to Rs 200 in the near term and Rs 300 in the long term. Further, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday reiterated the need to increase tariffs.

The company hopes to see greater adoption of smartphones with its cashback offer as it looks at different ways to increase data consumption along with ARPU.

Vittal said he was unsure if Jio’s new smartphone JioPhone Next will drive customer upgradation to smartphones in a big way. He also reiterated the need to increase tariffs.

“I have been to five-six circles (states). I have seen that the buzz in the market is high. There is a sense of excitement about the cashback scheme,” Vittal said in a post-result conference call on Wednesday.