average revenue per user (ARPU)

Average revenue per user (ARPU) is an important indicator of the profitability of pay TV and telecommunications companies. ARPU is another key performance indicator ( KPI) for managing the business activities and revenues of network operators, in addition to time of use, which is expressed in minutes of use (MoU).

ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) is an economic indicator used for investments in networks and services to sustainably maximize average customer revenue.

For mobile carriers, ARPU values in Germany range between EUR 18/subscriber/month and EUR 21/subscriber/month. The ARPU values of pay TV companies are comparable, ranging from EUR 25/month to EUR 30/month.

The globally averaged ARPU value is falling. This is due to the fact that the new mass markets are being tapped with innovative services and low rates for mobile communications. This is referred to as low ARPU. In addition, there is the area of high-ARPU, which is supported by associations and companies and in which innovative, personalized and location-based services are offered. In this context, audio messaging, better voice quality through Adaptive Multirate( AMR), message exchange between mobile devices or electronic money transactions are worth mentioning.

The difference between the two ARPU values is relatively large. For example, ARPU in emerging markets and newly industrialized countries is a few dollars, while in Western industrialized countries it is twenty times or more. The low-ARPU can only lead to corporate profits through the rapid growth of subscribers. This means that ARPU falls, but revenue rises due to the disproportionate growth in subscribers.