Airtel India mobile ARPU reaches Rs 271 as data use rises

Bharti Airtel Limited reported India mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 271 for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, as average monthly data usage per customer reached 36.5 GB. The result came with mobile revenue rising 10.1% year on year to Rs 30,943.1 crore and 18.8 million additional smartphone customers.

How did Airtel reach Rs 271 in mobile ARPU?

Airtel reported overall India mobile ARPU of Rs 271 in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, while its mobile customer base reached 377.2 million. The customer base was 3.6% higher than 364.2 million a year earlier, and mobile revenue rose to Rs 30,943.1 crore from Rs 28,116.8 crore, a 10.1% increase.

Revenue grew faster than the mobile customer base during the year. Airtel added 13.0 million mobile customers between the two reported September quarter-end dates, while segment revenue increased by Rs 2,826.3 crore. The presentation does not disclose the prior-year ARPU, so it does not allow a direct calculation of the year-on-year ARPU change.

Voice traffic increased 2.5% year on year to 1,280 billion minutes, compared with 1,249 billion minutes in the corresponding quarter. Mobile earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to Rs 18,873.5 crore from Rs 16,951.5 crore a year earlier, while the EBITDA margin increased to 61.0% from 60.3%.

What is driving Airtel’s mobile data usage?

Airtel’s smartphone customer base reached 304.6 million at September 30, 2026, after increasing by 2.9 million during the quarter and 18.8 million year on year. Average mobile-data use rose 28.8% to 36.5 GB per customer per month from 28.3 GB a year earlier, alongside 36.5% growth in data traffic.

Total data traffic on Airtel’s India mobile network reached 33,358 million GB, or gigabytes, in the September 2026 quarter, compared with 24,446 million GB in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. This traffic increase exceeded the 3.6% growth in the total mobile customer base, while the smartphone base expanded by 18.8 million customers. The presentation does not quantify how much each operating measure contributed to ARPU.

Network capacity also increased. Airtel had 347,988 network towers at September 30, 2026, compared with 342,339 a year earlier, and added about 0.5 thousand towers during the quarter. Mobile broadband base stations rose to 1,214,118 from 1,154,810 a year earlier and 1,202,434 in the preceding quarter as Airtel continued site deployment and coverage expansion.

How does Airtel mobile performance compare with other India segments?

Airtel mobile services was the largest reported India revenue segment in the September 2026 quarter, generating Rs 30,943.1 crore and a 61.0% EBITDA margin. Passive Infrastructure Services reported Rs 8,515.6 crore of revenue, Airtel Business reported Rs 5,877.9 crore, Homes reported Rs 2,336.0 crore and Digital TV reported Rs 771.3 crore.

Mobile revenue increased 10.1% year on year, compared with 25.3% growth in Homes revenue and 11.4% growth in Airtel Business revenue. Digital TV revenue was Rs 771.3 crore, compared with Rs 753.2 crore a year earlier and Rs 773.4 crore in the preceding quarter. Airtel notes that Passive Infrastructure Services figures differ from Indus reported numbers to align them with other segments.

India revenue across the company was Rs 42,307.9 crore, up 9.4% year on year, while the India EBITDA margin was 60.8%, compared with 60.0% a year earlier and 60.1% in the previous quarter. Mobile earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were Rs 10,675.6 crore, and the segment’s EBIT margin rose to 34.5% from 31.3% a year earlier.

What did Airtel spend on mobile network expansion?

Airtel incurred capital expenditure, or capex, of Rs 3,599.9 crore in its India mobile segment during the September 2026 quarter. This spending coincided with the addition of about 0.5 thousand towers and the increase in mobile broadband base stations to 1,214,118. Airtel said the segment continued to accelerate site deployment and improve coverage.

Consolidated capex was Rs 12,466.8 crore during the quarter. Airtel additionally invested Rs 2,825.8 crore in a strategic land parcel for data-centre expansion in India, separate from consolidated capex. Airtel Business spent Rs 1,171.0 crore of capex, Homes spent Rs 2,181.4 crore and Digital TV spent Rs 476.5 crore.

Consolidated net debt excluding lease obligations stood at Rs 88,277.1 crore at September 30, 2026, down from Rs 1,26,651.3 crore a year earlier. The annualised net debt-to-EBITDA ratio excluding leases was 0.70 times, compared with 1.19 times in the corresponding quarter. Consolidated revenue rose 16.7% to Rs 60,877.5 crore and consolidated EBITDA increased 17.8% to Rs 35,239.5 crore.

Conclusion

Airtel’s September 2026 India mobile results combine Rs 271 ARPU with a larger smartphone base, 36.5 GB of monthly usage per customer and 36.5% growth in mobile data traffic. Mobile revenue rose 10.1% despite a 3.6% rise in total mobile customers, and the segment EBITDA margin increased by 0.7 percentage points year on year to 61.0%.

The next operating measure to watch is Airtel’s stated programme of accelerating site deployment and expanding coverage after it added about 0.5 thousand towers in the quarter. The presentation provides no forward mobile-capex target or ARPU target, so subsequent disclosures will show whether further base-station additions, which totalled 1,214,118 at September 30, 2026, continue alongside higher smartphone usage and revenue.