The Hindu Business Line : Bharti Airtel buys out SingTel's stake in cable co

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New Delhi, Jan. 23 In a bid to expand its business and cut down on costs, telecom major Bharti Airtel announced a slew of initiatives including buying out SingTel's 50 per cent stake in joint venture under sea cable company Network i2i for $110 million. Bharti now holds 100 per cent stake in the company, which connects Chennai to Singapore through a 3,100 km optic fibre under sea cable.

Speaking to Business Line Mr Akhil Gupta, Joint Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Bharti Group said that the company would now look to expand in other parts of the globe through partnerships and possible acquisitions. "The under sea cable business has become an integral part of our business and full ownership will give us that missing link to our overall telecom strategy. Network i2i will be consolidated with Bharti Airtel though no decision has been taken on merging the two entities yet."

Mr Gupta said that the move would also result in cost savings for Bharti Airtel in terms of cheaper international bandwidth.

Bharti has also transferred its passive infrastructure for mobile communications such as towers into a wholly owned subsidiary, Bharti Infratel Ltd. Mr Gupta said that the move was aimed at increasing operational efficiencies and cutting down on costs. Bharti has 34,000 towers across the country, which can now be shared with other mobile operators for a fee.

In another move Bharti said that it would launch DTH services by the end of 2007. It has applied for a DTH licence.

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