Premiumisation may lift telcos in Q1 despite tariff pause

India’s telecom operators are expected to report another quarter of steady operating performance for the three months ended June, with customer premiumisation continuing to drive average revenue per user (Arpu) despite the absence of fresh tariff hikes, analysts said.

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are expected to post healthy subscriber additions, modest expansion in operating margins and continued momentum in home broadband. Markets will also watch out for management commentary on the timing of the next tariff hike, expected in the coming months, as well as Vodafone Idea’s fund-raising plans and pace of network expansion.