iWorld
Mobile customer ARPUs to cross Rs 200 by end of the year: Sunil Mittal
Mumbai: The board of Bharti Airtel on Sunday announced that it would raise Rs 21,000 crore through the issuance of equity shares available on a rights basis to eligible shareholders of the company. “This is the need of the hour for the company to accelerate from business as usual and capture a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” noted Bharti Airtel, chairman, Sunil Mittal.
Mittal acknowledged that the company is loaded with extraordinary debt both from AGR and spectrum dues and they are raising capital not just to pay off the dues but also invest more in building 5G capability, gain market share in mobile services, grow FTTH business and expand data centre business. “In two-three years you will see Airtel become much more comfortable with the debt on its balance sheet,” he remarked.
Mobile network expansion
The company will continue to continue to upgrade spectrum which is the lifeline of the telecom industry and requires heavy capital commitment, said Mittal. The existing spectrum licenses need to be renewed in 2023 but their cost is marginal, he noted.
“15 per cent of devices in India are 5G enabled and price points for 5G devices are coming down,” he observed, adding that “The government should ensure that pricing of spectrum remains attractive so that the benefits can be passed down to the customer who may enjoy a robust 5G ecosystem.”
According to Mittal the CapEx required to expand 4G capacity and upgrade existing capacity to 5G would not be very big. “We are largely done with our 4G capacity and only add extra capacity in high connectivity areas to cater to the surge in traffic. 5G capacities are huge and modular and upgrading to 5G in areas where there is higher traffic will be ideal,” he stated.
Sustainability in telco business
While Airtel is positioned to capture the growth in the next two to three years, Mittal advocated that the economic model of the telecom business in the country needs to change and become viable for sustainable growth.
“We expect the government to respond with a lighter touch,” he said, noting that out of Rs 100 in revenues Rs 35 goes to the government in the form of levies.
He said, “Indians are consuming 16 Gb of data on average per user every month and having an appropriate and decent return on capital is vital to the sustainability of the industry. We don’t see data consumption increasing exponentially from 16 Gb which is already a global record.”
The company’s ARPUs stands at Rs 146 as reported in the last quarter results and “we need to quickly get it to Rs 200 and Rs 300 eventually,” he said.
“At Rs 100, customers would be able to be on the network and be able to do a small amount of snacking, whereas at Rs 600-800 customers would be able to enjoy all benefits of data under the sun and it still would be the lowest tariffs in the world!” he said.
In September 2016, when Reliance Jio was launched, the entire telco industry’s ARPUs dropped below Rs 100. “The industry has reached Rs 150 and soon is expected to cross the Rs 200 mark by the end of the year,” he noted.
Broadband network expansion
Regarding the growth of FTTH business, he said “millions of new homes and offices are enabled with FTTH broadband services and we have seen a lot of momentum in the last 12 months. Our last quarter results showed that the number of fixed broadband connections are rising exponentially.”
The company’s home business segment added ~285,000 new customers during the last quarter to reach a 3.35 million customer base. Other than BSNL, Airtel has been in a rising position when it comes to broadband connectivity. Mittal said that CapEx allocation will be towards backhauling existing capacities and rolling out more fibre.
Data centre business
Regarding the data centre business, he said, “We have the right to win in this business as we know how to build data centres and have the domain expertise to run them efficiently. We have a significantly higher chance at success in this space than pureplay real estate players.”
Nxtra Data Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel is engaged in the data centre business and runs 10 large data centres and 120 edge data centres. Nxtra is building multiple large data centres across the country in Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata to capture the significant growth opportunities in India. In July 2020, Carlyle announced that it would acquire a 25 per cent stake in Airtel’s data centre business at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
DTH business
Speaking about buying back its 20 per cent stake in Bharti Telemedia (D2H business) from Warburg Pincus, he said, “As we get wiser in hindsight, we realised that all our customer-facing businesses need to be in complete control of the mothership company Bharti Airtel. While infrastructure businesses like fibre and tower are different, all our go-to-market businesses need to be aligned as one. That’s why we’ve had tremendous success in the rollout of Airtel Black.”
Digital business
“It is difficult for companies from traditional backgrounds, even technology companies like ours to pick up on the digital momentum. It has taken Airtel four to five years to get to a point where we have got the right to call ourselves a digital company,” said Mittal. “In the coming quarters, we will talk a lot more about digital and our revenues coming from digital will also be fairly impressive.”
iWorld
Uber spotlights Rs 25 bike rides with music led IPL campaign
Uber uses 15 second music films with Divine and Roll Rida to push Rs 25 rides
MUMBAI: In a season where ads usually swing for sixes with celebrity spectacle, Uber has chosen to play a clever single sharp, fast, and straight to the point. Uber has rolled out a distinctly stripped-down IPL campaign, putting its product Uber Bike rides starting at Rs 25 for up to 3 km front and centre, rather than leaning on big-budget storytelling. The campaign features hip-hop artist Divine in Mumbai and Roll Rida in southern markets, using music as the primary vehicle for recall.
IPL advertising has long been dominated by high-production narratives packed with cricketers and film stars. Uber’s approach flips that playbook. Instead of elaborate storytelling, the brand opts for 15-second music-led films quick, rhythmic bursts designed to mirror the pace of urban mobility itself.
The message is deliberately simple, affordable, fast rides that cut through city traffic. No layered plots, no extended build-up just a functional promise delivered with cultural flair.
In the Mumbai-led film, Divine zips through traffic on an Uber Bike, turning the Rs 25 price point into a hook with his signature wordplay around “pachisi”. The campaign cleverly reframes affordability as a moment of delight, the kind that leaves commuters with a “32-teeth smile” after beating traffic at minimal cost.
Meanwhile, Roll Rida’s version leans into southern sensibilities, blending Telugu and Tamil influences with high-energy visuals. Set to the beat of tape drums, the film celebrates how low-cost rides can unlock a more connected and vibrant city experience. Together, the films reflect a conscious push towards regional authenticity, rather than a one-size-fits-all national narrative.
The campaign also signals Uber’s sharper focus on India’s growing bike taxi segment. While the company offers multi-modal services spanning cars, autos, metro integrations and intercity travel, this push zeroes in on two-wheelers as a key growth lever in dense urban markets.
By anchoring the campaign around a Rs 25 entry price for short distances, Uber is targeting everyday commuters, particularly younger users navigating congested cities where speed and cost matter more than comfort.
With IPL advertising clutter at its peak, even the most straightforward message risks getting lost. Uber’s answer is to embed the proposition within culture using music, regional nuance and repeat-friendly short formats to drive recall. The creative team has also layered subtle visual cues including multiple references to “25” within frames encouraging repeat viewing and reinforcing the core message without over-explaining it.
The campaign reflects a broader shift in advertising priorities. As attention spans shrink and media environments get noisier, brands are increasingly favouring clarity over complexity and speed over scale.
Uber’s IPL play may not shout the loudest, but it lands where it matters in the everyday commute. Because sometimes, in a marketplace full of grand narratives, a Rs 25 ride is story enough.
