Bharti Airtel has been pretty vocal about what it has wanted for a long-time. The telco is all about keeping the highest paying customers in India on its network. This helps Airtel in keeping its ARPU level at the top position amongst the competition. Airtel has said many times that its short-term ARPU goal is Rs 200. ICICI Securities recently said that Airtel’s ARPU is expected to reach Rs 184 in Q1 FY23. If this is what the actual data also signifies, then Airtel will only be Rs 16 shy of its short-term ARPU goal of Rs 200.
Airtel Will Definitely Cross Rs 200 ARPU Level Very Soon
The telecom operators in India are planning on going for another round of tariff hikes. Airtel has already said that it won’t shy away from being the first operator to raise prices again. This will definitely help Airtel in crossing its short-term ARPU target of Rs 200. In the long run, Airtel’s ARPU target is Rs 300. At the current tariff levels, it will be too hard to do that. Bharti Airtel needs to add more 4G customers. Right now, the telco also has legacy network users on its network. These users basically don’t need to purchase heavily loaded 4G plans. Thus, the number one thing that Airtel needs to do is focus on pushing the legacy network users on its network to 4G services. This will further mean that these new 4G consumers will spend more money on the services of Airtel and help with boosting the ARPU of the company. But one thing is for sure; the Rs 200 ARPU target level is pretty achievable for Airtel in the short term. Just one more tariff hike would propel the company’s ARPU into 200+ levels which is what the telco wants. Vi is also likely to follow Airtel in increasing tariffs of prepaid plans, but the move will definitely benefit Airtel more.
