Bharti Airtel says ‘tariff repair’ needed in telecom

At an investor concall after fourth quarter results, Bharti Airtel said it is looking to invest in areas where it has weak market share, and added that the broadband penetration is still only 40 percent in homes, but is growing.

The telecom company said it has stopped all investments in 4G, and the entire capacity enhancement is now only happening in 5G services, which it called a ‘future-proof’ technology.

CEO Gopal Vittal said postpaid, B2B and Home services are areas when more work is required.

Airtel told investors in the concall that tariff repair needs to happen across industry. The ARPU level for the company is over Rs 200, while the right level should be Rs 300, though it will still be the lowest in the world.

After two rounds of tariff repair, some SIM consolidation has happened but it is at best ‘modest’, Airtel said in the concall.

The industry has seen two rounds of tariff repair in the last two years, which Airtel said has been at an absurdly low levels compared to anywhere else in the world. A ‘substantial tariff repair’ is absolutely needed, according to Airtel.

The architecture of pricing in India is quite broken and due to unlimited plans, people who can pay more are paying less, Airtel told investors in the concall.
Responding to a question on the recent, successful fund raise by Vodafone Idea, Airtel said it is glad that the telecom company has raised money and wishes them well. India will be served well with three telcos, Airtel added.