Bharti Airtel believes there is room to increase data tariffs in India, highlighting a disparity where wealthier users are paying less while those at the lower end of the income scale are already getting sufficient value. This was shared by Gopal Vittal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, during the company’s earnings call for the first quarter of the current financial year.
Vittal said, “The architecture of pricing in India is quite skewed. At the entry level itself or just above the entry level, you get so much data allowance, calling and messaging, that you really don’t have any reason to upgrade. It’s just an unfortunate situation where people who can afford to pay, the rich, are paying less and the poor, you know, we don’t need to charge the poor anymore.”
Currently, a monthly mobile plan from Airtel costs Rs 199 and includes unlimited local, STD and roaming calls, along with a 2GB data allowance. By paying an additional Rs 100, users can access 1 GB of data per day, with plans offering up to 3 GB of daily data starting from Rs 449.
Vittal pointed out that if India adopted a more balanced pricing model like Indonesia, the average revenue per user, or ARPU, would be significantly higher without affecting low-end customers.
According to a global data pricing platform, the average data price in India was around 16 cents in 2023, compared to approximately 28 cents in Indonesia during the same period.
In the quarter ending June 2025, Bharti Airtel reported a consolidated profit of Rs 5,947.9 crore, marking a 43 percent year-on-year increase, largely driven by growth in its customer base.
Airtel’s India ARPU rose to Rs 250 during the June 2025 quarter, up from Rs 211 in the same quarter last year. Data usage per customer on Airtel’s India network increased by 13.4 percent to 26.9 GB per month.
Meanwhile, the company’s Home Services segment, which includes fixed broadband, saw a 37.7 percent year-on-year growth in its customer base, reaching 1.09 crore. However, the ARPU in this segment declined by 6.1 percent to Rs 537 in the same quarter.
Overall, Bharti Airtel’s consolidated revenue from operations grew by 28.4 percent to Rs 49,463 crore in the June 2025 quarter, compared to Rs 38,506.4 crore during the same period last year.
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