A telecom tariff hike is needed as the current rates are “unsustainable” and market conditions will be seen before a call is taken, telecom czar and chairman of Bharti Airtel Sunil Mittal has said.

On the issue of whether Chinese telecom equipment vendors will be allowed to participate in next-generation 5G networks, Mittal said the larger question is that of the nation’s decision and asserted “what the country decides will be accepted by everyone”.

The company has already taken a clear stance on the tariff issue, he said, adding that Airtel is of the firm view that tariffs need go up.

“Current tariffs are unsustainable but Airtel cannot move without the industry moving or the regulator moving,” Mittal said.

Industry needs a tariff hike at some point in time, he said, adding “we will have to see the market conditions to do it”.

In August this year, Mittal had described 16GB data consumption a month for Rs 160 as a tragedy.

The company has maintained that the average revenue per user (ARPU) should rise to Rs 200 and eventually to Rs 300 for a sustainable business model.

Bharti Airtel’s mobile ARPU stood at Rs 162 for the September quarter compared with Rs 128 in the year-ago period, and Rs 157 in the preceding June quarter.

The Bharti Group chairman — - who has time and again drawn attention to the high taxes and levies in the sector — further said telecom being a “high capital-intensive industry” required a steady flow investments into networks, spectrum, towers and technology and it was therefore important for the industry to be “sustainable”.