25 March 2024 – Bharti Airtel is actively promoting its 5G services by forging exclusive partnerships with smartphone manufacturers, with a focus on price-sensitive customers in India. The telecom giant aims to increase data consumption on its network, subsequently boosting the average revenue per user (ARPU).
The recent collaboration with Xiaomi’s sub-brand Poco resulted in offering a 5G smartphone priced at Rs 8,799, bundled with data plans. Airtel is in talks with other smartphone makers to replicate similar partnerships, especially in the sub-Rs 10,000 price range. Leveraging its offline retail channels, Airtel aims to attract more users to its 5G network through these offers.
The strategy involves bundling 5G data, discounts, and cashback offers to make 5G smartphones more affordable, effectively lowering the cost below Rs 10,000. Handset bundling deals, where phones are locked to a telco’s network for a specific period, are reminiscent of similar strategies used during the transition from 2G/3G to 4G.
Airtel’s objective is to drive consistent ARPU through handset bundling, ensuring steady revenue streams in exchange for aggressive device pricing. With around 65 million 5G users, Airtel aims to increase this number significantly by 2025, projecting about 25% of smartphones to be 5G-enabled by then.