Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal dials Voda, Jio to strike synergy note
A day after the Centre announced a relief package for the telecom sector, Bharti Airtel Chairman
Sunil Bharti Mittal sent out a message of synergy, telling reporters that he
had spoken to Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read about the need to invest more and
that there was a conversation with Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing
Director Mukesh Ambani as well on all telcos working together.
Acknowledging that Bharti Airtel would
avail the moratorium of dues offered by the government, Mittal said the company
would redirect the cash flow to aggressively build networks.
Advising Vodafone Idea to pump
in funds to stay in the game, Mittal said at a virtual press meet on Thursday,
"They need to contribute their own monies in the company". UK-based
Vodafone and its joint venture partner in India, Aditya Birla Group, have
maintained till recently that they would not throw good money after bad.
On his discussion with Ambani after the government announcement,
Mittal said they spoke about the need for synergy between the telecom players.
“Time has come for three plus one operators to close ranks and work as a team
for building telecommunications rather than being fierce competitors. We will
compete, but just like in other industries like steel, build the eco system
together,” he said. Bharti Airtel has
competed aggressively with Reliance Jio—which disrupted the Indian telecom market
stalling meaningful tariff hikes for years.
Suggesting collaboration through sharing infrastructure like FTTH,
local loop unbundling, fibre and submarine cable, Mittal said companies should also
work together in bringing in more discipline in market practices like
commissions, dealer margins, portability amongst others.’
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