Bharti Airtel Hikes Prepaid Tariff By Up To 25%; Shares Hit 52-Week High

New Delhi: Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Monday announced that it will raise prepaid tariff rates by up to 25 per cent with effect from November 26. In a notification to the exchanges, the operator said that decision was taken "to provide a reasonable return on capital for a financially healthy business model."

"Bharti Airtel has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300," Airtel stated.

"We also believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in networks and spectrum. Even more important, this will give Airtel the elbow room to roll out 5G in India. Therefore, as a first step, we are taking the lead in rebalancing our tariffs during the month of November. Accordingly our new tariffs will come into effect from November 26, 2021," it added.

The current Rs 79 plan will cost Rs 99 from Friday, a hike of 25 per cent. The Rs 149 plan will cost Rs 179, the Rs 1,498 plan will become Rs 1,799 and the Rs 2,498 plan will cost Rs 2,999.

Airtel further mentioned that data top ups will now cost Rs 58 (up from Rs 48), Rs 118 (Rs 98) and Rs 301 (Rs 251), respectively.

The telecom operator's shares touched a 52-week high of Rs 756, surging over 5 per cent in the early trade, after the tariff hike announcement.