Bharti Airtel, which is one of India's leading telecom operators, has on Monday - November 22 announced revised tariffs of its services, which will come into effect from November 26. The revised tariffs will come with a hike of 20-25 per cent for various prepaid offerings, including tariffed voice plans, unlimited voice bundles, and data top-ups. 

In an official statement concerning the increase in tariffs, Airtel has said that it has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300 to provide a reasonable return on capital that allows for a financially healthy business model. It said, "We also believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in networks and spectrum. Even more important, this will give Airtel the elbow room to roll out 5G in India." 

The entry-level tariffed voice plan has been raised by about 25 per cent and a 20 per cent tariff has been increased for unlimited voice services. The company has also increased the tariffs for data-top up plans by about 20-21 per cent. Airtel has claimed that it is taking the lead in rebalancing tariffs during November and it has been reported that this is the first time in recent years that the company has hiked tariffs at this larger scale. 

As per the revised tariff in voice plans, the new rate is Rs 99, against the current rate of Rs 79- which is an increase of 25.3 per cent. The plan comes with 28 days validity and benefits like 50 per cent more talk time worth Rs 99, and 200MB data. Besides voice plans, unlimited voice bundles and data top-ups will also face hikes.

In the unlimited voice bundle, Airtel's plan of Rs 149 will be costing Rs 179 from November 26 with a validity of 28 days and benefits such as unlimited calling, 100 SMS/day, 2 GB data and the highest plan price of Rs 2,498 will cost Rs 2,999 and comes with 365 days for unlimited calling, 100 SMS/day with 2 GB. On the front of data top-ups, Rs 48 plan will be costing Rs 58, offering 3 GB data, while the Rs 98 plan will cost Rs 118 with 12 GB data. Airtel has also announced a tariff hike in Rs 251 data top-up plan, which will be costing Rs 301 with 50 GB data.