‘People consuming 30 GB for almost paying nothing’: Bharti Airtel chairman says tariff rates to go up

Telecom firm Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has said that mobile call and data rates will go up this year as the return on capital in the telecom business is very low.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Sunil Bharti Mittal said, “It (tariff hike) will happen across the board,” which means the cost will go up across all plans.

Responding to PTI on the need to hike tariff even when company’s balance sheet is healthy, the chairman said that the return of capital in the industry is very low so they are expecting a tariff hike this year.

“That needs to change. We are talking of small increments that need to come in the Indian tariff situation. I hope it happens this year,” Mittal said.

“Salaries have gone up, rents have gone up except one thing. There is no one complaining. People are consuming 30 GB for almost paying nothing. We don’t have more Vodafone (Idea) type of scenarios in the country,” he said.

“We need a robust telecom company in the country. The dream of India is digital, economic growth is fully realised. I think the government is fully conscious, the regulator is conscious and people are also very conscious,” Mittal said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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