Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor has made a strong case for the hike in the present telecom tariffs saying that it is at unsustainable levels for most of the industry.

"Is there a need to take tariffs up? I think absolutely yes. The way the industry is performing and the way the prices have come down. I think it is at unsustainable levels for most of the industry," he said.

He said that it is unprecedented compared to other parts of the world.

The leading telcos have all along been maintain that the rise in the tariff is inevitable in the face of the government’s decision to hike the reserve price for the spectrum auction to be held in November.

The telecom industry has vehemently opposed the base price of Rs 14,000 crore for 1800 Mhz band and Rs 18,200 for 800 Mhz. Apart from this,  the telecom panel has recommended to impose a one-time fee on existing mobile operators for excess spectrum.