NEW DELHI (TIP): India‘s leading GSM service provider Bharti Airtel has posted an increase in its data ARPU (Average Revenue per Unit) at Rs 75 in the third quarter of 2014, against Rs 70 in the previous quarter.

Bharti Airtel’s blended ARPU has also reached Rs 195 during the quarter, up from Rs 192 in the previous quarter. Interestingly, the company’s voice ARPU grew just 1 percent to Rs 161 in the quarter. The telco’s non-voice mobile revenues have been growing at a steady pace.

Airtel’s non-voice mobile revenues now contribute 17.2% to the total revenues, wherein data service’s share stands at 10.3%. The contribution of messaging and VAS segments to the total mobile revenues plunged at 6.1%, as compared to 6.7% in the second quarter of 2014. The telco has posted a strong growth in its data subscribe base. Bharti Airtel witnessed addition of 3.8 million data subscribers, leading to overall data customer base to 54.4 million.

During the third quarter, Bharti Airtel’s 3G customer base increased by 18% sequentially to 9.5 million with data usage per customer increasing by 8% q-o-q. The company had 8 million 3G subscribers in the second quarter of 2014. Data usage per user also increased to 249 MB in the third quarter, against 231 MB in the previous quarter. Due to reduction in data tariffs, Data realization rate per MB declined marginally to 30.1 paise.

Airtel also increased the number of 3G sites in the country during the quarter. It now operates 28,179 3G sites in the country, up from 26,616 3G sites in the previous quarter. Idea Cellular, which recently posted its quarterly results, also showed a strong growth in the data segment with 2.5 million new 3G subscribers. The company’s total 3G subscriber base stood at 8.7 million in the third quarter. Idea Cellular’s blended ARPU also reached Rs 169, while blended data ARPU (2G+3G) jumped significantly during the quarter to reach Rs 91, up from Rs 55 in the previous quarter