Bharti Airtel's decision to scrap select prepaid packs could lead to a hike in average revenue per user (ARPU) in a broad range of Rs 4-12, brokerages have estimated as the telco turned to targeted plan changes to drive premiumisation and monetisation.
Some viewed the changes as selective plan rationalisation rather than an across-the-board or formal tariff hike, but said it would aid Airtel's premiumisation strategy by prompting customers to upgrade.
The brokerages – Morgan Stanley, IIFL Capital, JM Financial, and Citi – in their recent notes, have modelled different scenarios to estimate the potential expansion of Airtel's ARPU.
The plan tweak is a focused attempt by Bharti Airtel toward higher monetisation while capitalising on customer preferences for higher data plans, it said, adding that Airtel has taken the first step toward changing the tariff architecture and it will be interesting to see when or if other operators follow suit.
IIFL Capital estimated an annualised ARPU uplift of about Rs 12, although the FY27 benefit could be around Rs 4 as it already factors in broader tariff hikes later in 2026. It termed the changes an advancement of tariff hikes on select plans.
"We believe this is an advancement of the next round of tariff hikes (assumed in Dec'26) on select plans. For now, we are not assuming that this tariff tweak is over and above the Dec'26 expected tariff hike. The incremental benefit from the current move will thus be limited to four months of FY27, implying a potential FY27 ARPU uptick of Rs 4," IIFL Capital said in its note.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel
First Published: Aug 16 2026 | 3:14 PM IST
Source: Read the original article on www.business-standard.com