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Bharti Airtel Follows Jio, Raises Tariffs By Up To 21%

The revised tariffs will be effective from July 3, according to an exchange filing.

An analyst said that Airtel has embarked on a market-testing tariff hike in Haryana and Odisha.(File)
An analyst said that Airtel has embarked on a market-testing tariff hike in Haryana and Odisha.(File)

Bharti Airtel Ltd. has raised tariffs for unlimited voice plans, data plans, and postpaid plans by 10–20%, following a tariff hike by Reliance Jio.

The revised tariffs will be effective from July 3, according to an exchange filing.

"Bharti Airtel has maintained that the mobile average revenue per user, or ARPU, needs to be upwards of Rs 300 to enable a financially healthy business model for Telcos in India," the company said.

"We believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investment required in network technology and spectrum and offer a modest return on capital."

The Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed company has raised the monthly tariff for postpaid plans by 10–20%, and for the unlimited voice plan, the tariff has been hiked between 11–12% and nearly 12–20% on daily data plans.

The telecom company said that it has ensured that there is a very modest price increase (less than 70 paise per day) on the entry level plans to "eliminate any burden on budget-challenged consumers."

In absolute terms, the annual data plan, which was for Rs 2,999, has seen the highest tariff hike of Rs 600 and is now priced at Rs 3,599, the same as the hike by Reliance Jio.

The hike comes after Reliance Jio raised prices by 12-25% on Thursday, and allowed unlimited 5G data on all 2GB per day and above plans. The hike is effective from July 3.

Post Vodafone Idea Limited's hike in tariff rates, here is the comparison of new prepaid and postpaid plans of Jio, Airtel and VI.