Airtel hints at hike in voice call tariff rates
‘Voice realisation is 30-33 paise per minute whereas our rack rates are almost about 90 paise’
New Delhi: In view of improving actual realisation per minute, Bharti Airtel, on August 6 hinted at a hike in tariff saying that there was a big opportunity in reducing discounts and freebies on voice calls.
"Voice realisation is 30-33 paise per minute whereas our rack rates are almost about 90 paise, so there is huge headroom to reduce discounts," Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said here. The company has increased data prices in the last few months. Vittal, though said the company is less concerned about data prices because data is growing, the challenge is voice realisation, which needs to be increased.
"We have made some changes in the last few months, lets see there is an opportunity to cut discounts on voice calls," Vittal said. Apart from Airtel, other operators including Idea Cellular, Vodafone, MTS have increased data prices for 2G and 3G. In a bid to improve profitability, telcos have been cutting back on discounts and freebies.
Last year too, telecom firms had increased data as well as call tariffs. After the March spectrum auction, industry associations had said there would be hike in tariffs as operators have to meet the commitment to the government.