Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal dials Voda, Jio to strike synergy note

Business Standard 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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