Bharti Airtel is set to up its prepaid mobile tariffs by 20-25 percent starting 26 November 2021, the telecom company said in a statement.
The move to increase prices is aimed at increasing the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of the telecom operator to enable substantial investments in the network as it plans to roll out 5G networks in India.
“Bharti Airtel has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (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 company said.
Bharti Airtel currently has an ARPU of Rs 153. Under the new tariff plan, Airtel’s 28-day prepaid package with unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day, and 2 GB data will now cost Rs 179, up from Rs 149.
The move comes months after Sunil Bharti Mittal had called for an increase in prices adding that 35 percent of the industry’s revenue goes to the government in taxes and levies.
And an increase in ARPU will help investment in the network. “We also believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in networks and spectrum. Even more important, this will give Airtel the elbow room to roll out 5G in India,” said Bharti Airtel.
According to the revised tariff plan, customers will spend Rs 265 for a 28-day pack which gives users 1 GB of data per day and unlimited calling. The price will be increased from the current Rs 219. Additional data pack of Rs 98 for 12 GB will now cost Rs 118 and the 50-GB data pack worth Rs 251 will now cost customers Rs 301.
For long, the telecom industry has been vocal about tariff hikes. The last tariff increase was in December 2019.