Airtel CEO says Indian mobile tariffs unfair, rich pay less than poor

Bharti Airtel MD, Gopal Vittal, has stated that India's mobile tariffs are unfair, with the rich paying less than the poor. The company sees an opportunity to raise data service tariffs as customers are receiving excessive data allowances with entry-level plans, making it difficult to upgrade. The average revenue per user in India increased to ₹250 in Q1 of the current fiscal, while the mobile data consumption on Airtel's network rose by 13.4% to 26.9 GB per customer per month.

Bharti Airtel's Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Gopal Vittal, has highlighted the need for reform in India's mobile tariffs, stating that the current pricing structure is "skewed" [2]. He believes that the rich are paying less for data services, while the poor are not required to pay for data allowances, making it difficult for customers to upgrade to higher plans. Vittal made these remarks during the company's earnings call for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The company's consolidated net profit rose by 43% year-on-year to ₹5,948 crore in the June quarter, driven by an increase in customer base and higher data consumption [3]. Bharti Airtel's average revenue per user (ARPU) in India increased to ₹250 during the June quarter, the highest in the sector [3]. The mobile data consumption on Airtel's network rose by 13.4% to 26.9 GB per customer per month [2].

Vittal noted that the architecture of pricing in India is quite skewed. He suggested that if India had a more sensible pricing architecture, similar to Indonesia, the ARPU would have been substantially higher without causing any pain to customers at the low end [2]. According to Cable.co.uk, the average data price in India was around 16 cents in 2023, compared to 28 cents in Indonesia [2].

Bharti Airtel's consolidated revenue from operations increased by 28.4% to ₹49,463 crore during the reporting quarter, driven by strong performance in India and a rebound in Africa on reported currency [3]. The company's India business revenue, including passive infrastructure services, grew by 16% on-year to ₹37,584.6 crore, backed by strong data usage growth and high-end customer additions [3].

The company's stock closed 0.9% higher ahead of results, reflecting investor confidence in the company's performance and future prospects [1]. Bharti Airtel has been expanding its 5G network in India since October 2022, but most of the expansion is now complete [3].

References:
[1] Reuters. (2025). India's Bharti Airtel posts quarterly profit jump on tariff gains. Retrieved from https://www.tradingview.com/news/reuters.com,2025:newsml_L4N3TX10X:0-india-s-bharti-airtel-posts-quarterly-profit-jump-on-tariff-gains/
[2] Livemint. (2025). Bharti Airtel sees an opportunity in raising tariffs for data services. Retrieved from https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/mobile-tariff-design-skewed-in-india-rich-paying-less-airtel-md-11754493101487.html
[3] Economic Times. (2025). Airtel Q1 profit jumps 40% YoY; ARPU at industry best Rs 250. Retrieved from https://m.economictimes.com/markets/stocks/earnings/airtel-q1-profit-jumps-40-yoy-arpu-at-industry-best-rs-250/articleshow/123121262.cms