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Mr Arun Sarin, CEO

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 8 Vodafone Essar on Monday said it was keen to find ways to share its mobile infrastructure with other operators in the country.

“We are looking at ways to piggyback on each other’s infrastructure to reach out to the masses quickly,” said Mr Arun Sarin, Vodafone’s global CEO, who was in the Capital to meet high ranking officials in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Communications.

According to industry sources, one of the options being looked at by GSM operators is to merge their respective infrastructure to create a mega tower company.

Mr Sarin, however, denied reports of Vodafone buying stake into Bharti’s tower company. “It is completely unlikely that we would be buying into Bharti Infratel because we have our own infrastructure. There is no reason for us to buy,” he said.

Mr Sarin reiterated that Vodafone Essar will spend $2 billion a year in India for expansion. “Since our entry into India, our capital expenditure has doubled. We are now spending $2 billion a year,” he said.

The company has made plans to expand its coverage from 50 per cent of the addressable market to 90 per cent and also bundle low-cost handsets to offer affordable mobile connection in rural areas. Vodafone Essar is now adding about 1.5 new customers a month compared to 8 lakh a month, when it was controlled by Hutchison Telecommunications.

On the tax notice to Vodafone from the tax authorities Mr Sarin said, “There was no discussion (during the meeting with Finance Ministry officials) on the notice from the Income-Tax Department. The matter is in court and we will wait for the decision of the court.”

Vodafone is also investing $10 million for setting up a charity foundation in India.

Vodafone India Foundation will extend direct grants to local charities and global non-governmental organisations, a company statement said.

“As someone who was born and raised in India, I recognise the urgent need for our youth to be empowered from a knowledge perspective. We believe the foundation will become an effective catalyst in this regard,” Mr Sarin said.

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