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Highlights
- Wireless ARPU Climbs to Rs 196 in March 2026 Quarter
- Prepaid ARPU Overtakes Postpaid ARPU Industry-Wide
- Airtel and Vi Continue to Push for Tariff Structure Changes
Andrew Bonwick
Vice President of Product Development at Relm Insurance
Madhav Sheth
CEO of Ai+ Smartphone
Stephen Rose
CEO Render Networks
Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi), the two private telcos in India have been advocating for a revised tariff structure. This is despite the sector witnessing growth in the wireless average revenue per user (ARPU). The ARPU is only going to go up as data consumption rises in the coming quarters. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently came out with the performance indicator report for the last quarter FY26, and the report highlights some key stats which are worth noting.
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Key Highlights
- Wireless ARPU in India rose to Rs 196.04 in the March 2026 quarter.
- Industry-wide ARPU increased 0.76% sequentially and 7.15% year-on-year.
- Prepaid ARPU reached Rs 196.22, higher than postpaid ARPU of Rs 194.31.
- Airtel and Vodafone Idea continue to advocate for tariff structure revisions.
- Rising ARPU suggests consumers are spending more on telecom services.
- Operators are expected to pursue tariff restructuring rather than simple price hikes.
ARPU Up Industry Wide: TRAI Latest Data
We are not focusing on the ARPUs of telcos individually here, but will talk about the ARPU of the industry. According to the TRAI report, the monthly ARPU for wireless services increased by 0.76% from Rs 194.57 in QE December 2025 to Rs 196.04 in QE March 2026. On a YoY basis, this is a growth of 7.15%.
If we talk just about the prepaid services, then the ARPU went up to Rs 196.22 and for the postpaid mobile services, the ARPU stood at Rs 194.31. It looks like the prepaid ARPU is now beating the growth for postpaid ARPU industry-wide, and this is something the telcos will be closely monitoring.
