Be prepared to pay more! Sunil Mittal hints at tariff hike for Airtel's mobile services
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has hinted at a hike in mobile services tariff in the next 6 months. Mittal said that the availability of data at low rates is not sustainable for the telecom industry
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has hinted at a hike in mobile services tariff in the next 6 months. Mittal said that the availability of data at low rates is not sustainable for the telecom industry. "You either consume 1.6 GB of capacity per month either at this price point or you may prepare to pay a lot more. We are not wanting USD 50-60 like the US or Europe but certainly USD 2 for 16 GB a month is not sustainable," Mittal said at an event.
Bharti Airtel's top boss also said that asking for Rs. 160 for 16GB of data was a tragedy for the business.
"We need a Rs 300 ARPU in which you will still have a lower end at Rs 100 a month with a decent amount of data. But if your consumption is largely around watching TV, movies, entertainment, and depriving other vital special services networks, then you need to pay for that," Mittal also said.
"Businesses which are not in telecom, also need to adopt digital. You should see solid ARPUs building up in the next 5-6 months for the industry to be sustainable. We are down to 2-3 players now. India is a very price-conscious market. In six months we should be crossing the mark of Rs 200 for sure and Rs 250 would be ideal," he added.
The average revenue per unit is the measure of the revenue generated per unit or user for the company. It is usually calculated as total revenue divided by the number of units, users, or subscribers. Bharti Airtel doesn't currently offer the cheapest plans right. So, for ARPU to rise, the tariffs have to go up even further. Airtel reported an increase in the ARPU to Rs 157 in the first quarter ended June 30, 2020. The rise in ARPU came after the tariff hike imposed in December 2019.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 15,933 crore in the June quarter, its fifth in succession, largely on account of one-time expenses related to its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.