Bharti Airtel raised telecom tariffs by 11-20 per cent on Friday morning, following Jio’s announcement to raise tariffs. The new tariffs will take effect from July 3, according to an Airtel press note.
Airtel’s lowest tariff plan will now cost 11 per cent more at ₹199 a month, against ₹179 earlier, a lower jump than Reliance Jio. However, since Jio’s plans were initially priced much lower than Airtel’s, both operators’ entry level prices are now similar.
According to market experts industry ARPU is set to increase to ₹250 following the tariff hike. Airtel’s ARPUs will stabilise at ₹280 following the hike.
“Bharti Airtel (‘Airtel’) has maintained that the mobile Average Revenue per User (ARPU) needs to be upwards of INR 300, to enable a financially healthy business model for telcos in India. We believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in network technology and spectrum and offer a modest return on capital.” Airtel said in its press note.
The company added that the hike at the entry level is pretty affordable, increasing by 70 paisa a day. It said, “In this light, we welcome the announcements in the industry to repair tariffs. Airtel will also revise its mobile tariffs as indicated below, from July 3. We have ensured that there is a very modest price increase (less than 70p per day) on the entry level plans, in order to eliminate any burden on budget challenged consumers.”