Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal confirmed plans to hike mobile phone call and data rates across all plans in 2023. The telecom company last month increased the price of its minimum recharge or entry level 28-day mobile phone service plan by approx. from 57 percent 155 in eight circles.
Responding to a question from PTI on the need for a tariff hike once the company’s balance sheet is in order, Mittal said the return on capital in the telecom business is very low and a tariff hike Hopefully this year.
“It (tariff hike) will happen everywhere,” Mittal said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) here on Monday.
He said the company has infused a lot of capital which has strengthened the balance sheet but the return on capital is very low in the industry.
Mittal said, “That needs to change. We are talking about small increments that need to come in the Indian tariff situation. I expect it to happen this year.”
Asked about the impact of the price hike on people at the bottom of the pyramid, he said the increase is small compared to what people are spending on other things.
“Salaries have gone up, fares have gone up, except one thing. There is no complaint. People are consuming 30 GB almost without paying. We don’t have much Vodafone (Idea) type scenario in the country.
Mittal said, “We need a strong telecom company in the country. India’s dream is digital, economic development is fully realized. I think the government is fully aware, the regulator is aware and people are also very aware.” “
The company has stopped its minimum recharge plan 99, under which it offered 200MB data and call rates 2.5 paise per second.
While Airtel’s short term ARPU target is 200, it focuses on a medium to long term ARPU target 300 through price hike for sustainable operations.
Mittal said India’s focus on economy and infrastructure is paying handsome dividends to companies. Talking about the impact of inflation and global macroeconomic situation on the company, Mittal said that India is growing very fast.
“Economically, all areas of Indian economy Currently, the government is attracting a lot of attention from investors. FDI is coming in a really big way. Inflation is now being properly controlled. I think India’s complete focus on this economy and infrastructure is paying rich dividends,” he said.
Mittal said that India is benefiting a lot especially by focusing on digital infrastructure.
“Companies that are operating in this environment, obviously, they have to achieve a lot and the consumption of digital medium is high. We keep talking about some more improvement in tariffs and ARPU (average revenue per user), That’s the only focus left.” Said.
Mittal said the government has done a lot to make the infrastructure of the telecom industry healthy with the support of BSNL and Vodafone Idea.
“We have always said that for a country as big as India, there should be three operators. The question is whether there is going to be a third one.” BSNL, the stronger one, or Vodafone (Idea) also has room to play. The government has now done its best. Now it is up to Vodafone to take advantage of it,” Mittal said.
The government recently converted the interest dues of 16,133 crore pertains to deferment of spectrum auction tranches and adjustment of gross revenue payment to 33.44 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea (VIL), which is grappling with the burden of excess. 2.2 lakh crores.
asked about monetization of 5g networkHe said that the company’s focus is completely on the rollout of the network and monetization will happen after the network base is ready.
The company now has only about 100 million 2G customers left, but Mittal said the company will not discontinue 2G services until the customer base is shifted to 4G or 5G.
“We are coming down to 100 million now – one of the smallest pools of 2G customers. But we cannot leave them stranded. I would prefer to shut down the network and save all the investment that went into 2G but there is a big Number of customers who need to upgrade to 4G-5G phones, but the prices of that devices are currently prohibitive,” Mittal said.
Mittal, who is the executive chairman of satellite company OneWeb, said the firm would be ready to provide services in India by July-August. He categorically denied a report about his plan to buy stake in Paytm.
“They mentioned my name (in the report) and I can confirm to you that it is not operational. We are not looking at it. Our payments bank is progressing well. It has become profitable. Our The bank has over 65 million customers. They are thrifty customers in rural areas. It is doing a great job in financial inclusion,” Mittal said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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