India’s largest mobile operator, Bharti Airtel has overtaken Hutchison Essar with regard to its average revenue per user (ARPU).
As per the latest data by the Cellular Operators Association of India, Bharti had an ARPU of Rs 343.17 per month for the quarter ended December 2006, ahead of Hutchison Essar’s Rs 340.15 per month. Hutch’s ARPU fell by over 9% in the quarter ended December 2006, while Bharti witnessed only a 1.5% fall in its average revenues during the same period.
The average industry ARPU has fallen to Rs 316 for the quarter ended December 2006 from Rs 356 in March 2006 - a fall of Rs 40 per subscriber and a decline of 11%. On the other hand, private operators have recorded a 10% increase in the revenues during the quarter ended December 2006.
Idea, Reliance Telecom and Aircel also saw a dip in their ARPUs compared to the Sep ‘06 quarter.
- Idea Cellular = Rs 276.66, a fall of 12.80%
- Reliance Telecom = Rs 187.09, a fall of 25.48%
- Aircel = Rs 226.91, a fall of 15.73%
BPL Mumbai and Spice Telecom are the only two operators to have registered an increase in their ARPUs during this period. BPL’s average revenues grew 27.40% to touch Rs 386.28, while Spice witnessed a 5.5% increase at Rs 241.79% for the quarter ended December 06.
Source: ET
