Airtel chief Sunil Bharti Mittal said that it does not matter if one's pocket is full or not as long as they persevere. He also acknowledged that Reliance Jio will always have more capital as they are a bigger company. He also spoke about Airtel’s competition with Adani Data Networks and said that he welcomes them but would prefer to serve them for their spectrum needs.
Speaking at the sidelines of Business Today’s India@100 Economy Summit, Mittal said, "In my 20's I was a young dreamer seeking funding. If you have big dreams, it does not matter if your pocket is full or not, chase them with perseverance."
A first-generation businessman, Sunil Bharti Mittal started his entrepreneurial journey in 1976 at the age of 18 years. But he would go on to establish Airtel in 1997 before it became India’s second-largest telecom network.
Speaking at the event, Mittal also acknowledged the competition Airtel faces from Reliance Jio.
“In Jio, we have a very dominant, strong and powerful competitor. It keeps us on our toes. For running a good enterprise, you need capital, talent and focus,” he said, further adding that they cannot match Jio’s capital. “They will always have much more capital as they are a larger industrial house. So, therefore you know your limitations compared to that,” said Mittal.
He also spoke about competition with Adani. “I would love to serve Adani’s needs. But if he wants to do it himself, and not take any assistance from us, I will be fine. But to my mind, we will be serving his ports, airports, and other industrial needs in a better way because I feel we can do it better,” Mittal said during the summit. Mittal cited the example of BMW-Vodafone tie-up in Germany to elucidate his point. He said despite BMW’s own spectrum, it has tied up with Vodafone for tech-related stack and services.
Despite acknowledging Airtel’s capital gap with Jio, Mittal said that the telecom segment is only for the players “who have deeper pockets”. “Telecom segment is not meant for the first-generation entrepreneurs as currently there are only two in the world - US’s Craig McCaw and the other one being Bharti Airtel. This is because the telecom business is only for individuals with a deep pocket,” he explained.
Also read: 'They will always have more capital,' says Airtel's Sunil Mittal on battle with Ambani's Jio
Also read: 'I will be fine': Airtel's Sunil Mittal is not worried about Adani's telco entry