NEW DELHI: Vodafone Idea Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravinder Takkar said the telecom major will not shy away from raising prices and setting a precedent for the industry.
In a post-earnings call with analysts, Takkar said the current price levels for voice and data services are unsustainable, according to a Mint report.
According to Takkar, the sector requires an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 200 in the short run and Rs 300 eventually.
“If you look at the current pricing, there is something wrong with it…We have said before that we will not shy away from hiking prices and we will be happy to be the first one to do so. We hope others in the industry will follow,” Takkar said, as quoted by the paper
The prices of voice and data services were previously raised in December 2019, the report said.
Vodafone Idea reported blended ARPU of Rs 119 in Q2FY21, higher than Rs 104 reported in the same period last year.
Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal also recently said the current rates for voice and data services are unsustainable.
Vodafone Group Plc is expected to pay Rs 6,400 crore to clear adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, Vodafone Idea CFO Akshaya Moondra said as quoted by Mint. The telecom major still owes more than Rs 50,000 crore to the Indian government as AGR dues.
“The cumulative amount paid by us till date exceeds 10 percent of the total liability and accordingly, we believe, the next instalment would be payable only by March 31, 2022,” the company said on October 29. —Agencies

KR Desk