Reliance Jio is expected to post the highest growth in terms of percentage in average revenue per user (ARPU) figure QoQ for the Q1 FY23. However, as per analysts, Airtel’s overall ARPU will still be the greatest in the industry. Analysts expect that Airtel’s ARPU will touch Rs 184-185 levels in the first quarter of the financial year 2023.
This is not surprising. Airtel’s tariffs are significantly higher than Jio’s tariffs. Plus, Jio has a lot of low-income customers in its subscriber base. Airtel has been successful in branding itself as the premium network service provider in the country and hence has many high-paying customers in the market.
Having a higher ARPU definitely piques the interest of the investors in the telco (Airtel). Raising fresh capital has not been an issue for Airtel as it has been for Vodafone Idea.
Airtel has been the pick of the analysts because of the rising potential in business with subsidiaries such as Airtel Payments Bank being profitable now. The reason why Airtel has been able to grow exponentially is because of the tight ecosystem it has created for the users.
Airtel is going aggressive in its digital services business which doesn’t only include mobile services. There are multiple services such as DTH (direct-to-home), fiber broadband and other B2B services which are also earning Bharti Airtel significant revenues.
Airtel vs Jio vs Vi: Airtel to Lead in ARPU
Bharti Airtel will likely keep the tag of the telco with the highest ARPU for the foreseeable future. The telco is planning to raise prepaid tariffs further in the country. Vodafone Idea will either follow or raise tariffs before Airtel. The stance of Reliance Jio is unclear here and it will be worth seeing just how big growth is reported by Jio in the ARPU department for Q1 FY2023. Many users are expected to recharge for the first time with the new tariffs of Jio in Q1 FY2023. The new tariffs in concern here aren’t new anymore as they were introduced in December of 2021.
