Telcos expect ARPU to more than double by 2021; steep hike in bills likely

Clearly with the financial stress of telcos getting aggravated with the large imposts that they have to fork out due to the AGR order immediately, much of the bill will have be passed on to customers.

It’s time for telecom subscribers to brace for a steep hike in tariffs because telecom firms expect the average revenue per user (ARPU) to more than double by next year.

Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said: “We had indicated that tariffs must go to generate at least ARPUs of Rs 200 (per month) by the end of 2020 and Rs 300 by 2021. The tariff increase might reduce usage of customers but not likely impact their number.”

The ARPU increase of around 77 per cent (from an average ARPU of around Rs 113 in