‘Hope govt provides relief to telecom industry’: Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal

Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal said that the telecom industry is in a serious financial stress and hoped that the government would provide some relief. He also said that a country the size of India needs at least three private players.

During the Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, Vittal said: "There is clearly a situation of serious financial stress in the industry and we have seen one of the players actually saying to the government that they may not be able to pay their dues coming up in March 2022. We hope that the government does something to provide some relief to the industry."

Vittal said that the company’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is ‘abysmally low’ and that they have made certain changes in its plans. He said that there might not be a broader tariff revision that might risk customer erosion and competitiveness but ARPU needs to increase to Rs 200-300 level.

When asked if the Sunil Mittal-led telco is prepared for a two-player market, Vittal said that the Indian market can easily accommodate three private players. "I think just from a national perspective, it would be appropriate to see an industry structure where three players not just survive, but thrive and of course the government player is always there," he said, further adding, "I feel as a country we do need three players...it is a large enough country with 1.3 billion people, which can easily accommodate three (private) players in this market."

This comment comes amid looming uncertainty over Vodafone Idea. Co-parent Vodafone Group has made it clear that they won’t infuse any more equity in India. Meanwhile, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla offered to hand over the group’s stake to the government. On Wednesday, Birla stepped down as director and chairman of VIL. Birla holds around 27 per cent stake in VIL.

The Bharti Airtel CEO added that they were disappointed with the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the application filed by telcos to recalculate AGR dues. The company has, so far, paid Rs 18,000 crore. Vodafone Idea too has a liability of Rs 58,254 crore out of which it has paid more than Rs 7,800 crore.

Also read: Kumar Mangalam Birla steps down as director, chairman of Vodafone Idea

Also read: ‘Want to make it clear’: Vodafone Group CEO says no plans to infuse equity in Vi