India's system of unlimited mobile data pricing is "broken" because heavy internet users are paying too little while poorer users may already be paying as much as they can, Bharti Airtel said.
The comments underscores a shift in how India's telecom industry views the country's cheap data era, which helped turn video streaming, social media scrolling and always-on internet access into part of daily life for millions of users. "The rich are paying less than they ought to, and the poor are perhaps paying as much as they need to," Bharti Airtel Vice Chairman Gopal Vittal said during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.
Airtel said India's current pricing structure gives users unlimited data at levels that are far lower than many global markets. Vittal said unlimited plans in markets such as the United States and Europe start at much higher prices than in India.
The company said the issue is not entry-level pricing alone, but the wider structure of mobile plans that allows high data consumption without meaningful differences between users consuming small and large amounts of internet data. Airtel said the industry may eventually need a pricing structure with different usage slabs and allowances.
Cheap Data Shift
India's low-cost internet plans helped drive a sharp rise in mobile video consumption over the past several years. Streaming platforms, short-video apps, online gaming and social media usage expanded rapidly as users moved to larger data packs and unlimited plans.
Airtel said many users now consume large amounts of data under flat pricing structures that leave little room for revenue growth beyond a certain point. "At about INR340, INR350, you're capped out because you're running unlimited data plans," Vittal said.
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The company said it remains cautious about increasing prices for lower-income users. Vittal said entry-level plans priced around INR199 need careful handling because of affordability concerns.
Still, Airtel said there remains room to increase revenue from users upgrading to larger plans, postpaid connections and international roaming packs. The company also said rising data consumption continues to support growth.
Smartphone Concerns
Airtel also flagged concerns over rising handset prices, saying higher smartphone costs could slow upgrades for some users.
The company said prices of handsets have risen sharply in recent weeks, creating pressure in the shift from feature phones to smartphones. "We haven't yet seen any impact, but we can't rule it out," Airtel Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shashwat Sharma said during the earnings call.
Airtel added 4.7 million mobile customers in the March quarter, including 5.8 million smartphone users. The company reported an average revenue per user of Rs 257 for the quarter.
The company said it plans to focus more on higher-paying postpaid users and customers upgrading to plans with higher data usage.
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