Huge Headroom for Cut in Discounts for Voice Calls: Airtel

"Voice realisation is Rs. 0.30 - Rs. 0.33 paise per minute whereas our rack rates are almost about Rs. 0.90, so there is huge headroom to reduce discounts," Bharti Airtel (India & South Asia) MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said in New Delhi.

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, let us 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.

Bharti Airtel on Thursday announced the launch of its 4G LTE mobile services in 296 towns across the country. Airtel has also announced "go-to-market partnerships" with Samsung and Flipkart for 4G devices. The company had started its 4G services in 2012 with the first launch in Kolkata.

Written with inputs from PTI