Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have benefited from the recent tariff hikes and the relief measures announced by the government. But things haven’t ended here for the telos. For 5G to become a reality, the telcos need to do more work and get more cash in hand so that they can be ready for more aggressive network investments. There are two things that both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea want from the government — a) affordable spectrum for 5G, and b) reduced litigation in the sector.
IMC 2021 Reveals Operators Requesting for Affordable Spectrum and Reduced Litigation
Speaking at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2021, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, requested the government to reduce litigation from the sector. The same was said by Ravinder Takkar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Vodafone Idea. Akhil Gupta, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, during the same event that affordable spectrum is required to proliferate 5G in India and make it reach every part of the country. Mittal and Takkar have said the same. As for the reduced litigation, the government is already working on how to make it happen. The second set of reforms that are expected to be announced in the near future are expected to include reduced litigation as well. Mittal had also urged the industry to work together and share infrastructure with each other. This will ensure that the cost of rolling out new networks are reduced for the telcos, which in turn can affect their overall profits or losses massively. Takkar also said that the quality of the telecom services needs to go up after the tariff hikes. For the unaware, all the private telecom operators in the country had gone for a 20% to 25% tariff hike recently. The telcos want the spectrum to become more affordable so that their cost for rolling out 5G networks can become feasible, and also, the litigation in the sector must be reduced so that everyone involved can save money as well as time.
