Airtel hikes tariffs by 11-21%, a day after Jio

NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Friday raised tariffs for all its prepaid and postpaid users in a bid to shore up average revenue per user (ARPU), a day after rival Reliance Jio raised rates by 12-15%.

“Bharti 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 a statement. “In this light, we welcome the announcements in the industry to repair tariffs.”