Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, wants the telecom operators to come together for building a unified strategy and reviving the sector. Mittal said that the telcos have been cutting each other for getting a larger market share. As per the Indian business tycoon, it’s high time that the industry regroups and focuses on building a sustainable business. For the same, Mittal recently spoke to Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group Plc, and “encouraged him to stake necessary steps and cover lost ground”. Mittal reiterated that the government had done its part in helping the sector, so now it is time for the telcos to step up as well.
Bharti Airtel Might Take Lead In Some Areas
Mittal said that he is also planning to speak to Mukesh Ambani, Managing Director and Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), for coming together and building a coordinated approach to revive the industry. Mittal said that he would talk to Ambani about cooperating in areas such as sharing of fibre infrastructure, market practices, and data centres. According to an ET Telecom report, Mittal further said that Airtel is ready to take the lead in some areas. It is clearly indicated that Mittal meant tariffs here. Bharti Airtel might become the first telecom operator in India to go for aggressive tariffs. Mittal expects the average revenue per user (ARPU) to touch Rs 200 by the end of the Financial Year 2022 (FY22). Further, Mittal said that Airtel will opt for the relief measures from the government and would defer the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum payments to improve the cash flow of the company. According to Mittal, deferment of payments for would mean a breather of about “Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 crore and an interest of Rs 7,000 crore.” It was interesting to see Mittal saying that Airtel wants to see the details of the government taking equity in the company against the interest payments. This means Airtel is open to offering an equity stake to the government if the deal favours.
