Friday, Apr 26, 2024 | Last Update : 06:24 AM IST
Bharti Airtel to invest Rs 20,000 crore for expansion
Mr Mittal later told reporters that “if there are going to be three players, we all have to build ecosystem together as much as we can”.
New Delhi: India’s largest telecom company Bharti Airtel, chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said on Wednesday that the telco will invest up to Rs 20,000 crore this year in digital infrastructure. Mr Mittal urged states as well as municipalities to recognise the power of digital India and enable easy on-ground implementation of policies like the right of way.
He said the industry is offering “yeoman service” and infusing large amounts of money in strengthening the infrastructure. Airtel will invest around Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 crore this year, he said, adding that the industry overall will be injecting Rs 50-60,000 crore to build digital infrastructure.
He advocated a collaborative approach to overcome challenges and unleash the growth potential of the sector. “India’s time has come... every large tech honcho is looking at India,” Mr Mittal said terming the country as an emerging showcase for digital technology.
“Clearly, as Mukesh (Ambani) pointed out, none of us can do it alone...We all have to come together. While we compete head on for benefit of customers, we have to collaborate amongst ourselves.”
Such collaboration would be essential to create a robust ecosystem and ensure that benefits of digital technologies accrue to India, he added. Mr Mittal later told reporters that “if there are going to be three players, we all have to build ecosystem together as much as we can”.
Asked specifically about the industry’s differences over the impending cut in call connect rates, Mr Mittal said, “Those issues have to be kept aside. We have to build India’s digital dream and that is what we are working on”.
He said Airtel is rolling out massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology and India will be “in step and head to head with what is happening globally”.
