Bharti Airtel, which is keen to make rival Vodafone Idea a partner in the independent optical fibre company it is setting up, has invited the latter to be a part of the new firm. If Vodafone Idea decides to join, this would be the single largest independent fibre company in the country.

“We always talk to each other, and our company is being formed as we had filed for a demerger of the fibre unit. We will have a fibre company in place by end of March, and in that we have invited Vodafone to come and join,” Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal told a select group of Indian journalists here. While the initial response from Vodafone was “warm”, the plan is to set up an independent tower firm on the lines of Indus Towers for shared infrastructure. In 2017, Airtel said it will transfer its optical fibre business to a wholly-owned subsidiary — Telesonic Networks — and if Vodafone “accepts the invitation” the structure will be altered along the lines of Indus Towers, he added.

“Vodafone has a lot of fibre, we have a lot of fibre and when we combine these, both the companies will gain about 25 per cent capacity on routes we don’t have, but importantly all the future build for fibre starts to become common.”

“The more the merrier,” Mittal, said when asked whether Airtel will extend the same courtesy to Reliance Jio Infocomm. The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) moving up to ₹200 will help the industry become sustainable and it moving over to ₹300 would be ideal.

At present, the industry ARPU hovers at about ₹100 per month.

 

The Indian telecom industry is seeking allocation of the sub-6 GHz spectrum to roll out 5G services and not the millimetre wave.

“My own view is 3500 MHz will be the one on which India probably will launch the services, but an operator needs 100 MHz. Eventually, India will get into 5G in step with the world and my recommendation is that the Government must encourage 5G coming into India early, rather than late...,” he said.

Stating that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s price recommended is high, the country is readying infrastructure while there is no hurdle to spectrum.

Way forward

Airtel, which generally invests ₹23,000-₹24,000 crore every year in India, has put all large capex cycle behind it. Airtel is also gearing up for Initial Public Offering (IPO) plans for Africa, which is slated to happen sometime this year.

Airtel, which has been a number one company for nearly 22 years, said it has no plans to foray into content creation. “We have no competence, we have no ambition.”

 

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