Bharti Airtel, India’s premier telecommunications services provider and an associate of SGX-listed Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), says it is “set to lead India’s 5G revolution”.
Airtel’s announcement comes after it acquired 19867.8 MHz spectrum by securing a pan India footprint of 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands.
The company was also able to selectively bolster mid-band spectrum.
Purchased at the latest spectrum auction conducted by India’s Department of Telecom, Airtel paid a total of Rs 43,084 crore ($7.49 billion).
“The acquisition of this vast amount of spectrum strapped on to an already industry best existing pool of spectrum will mean that the company does not need to spend any material sum on spectrum for many years to come,” says Airtel in a statement dated Aug 1 and released on the SGX on Aug 2.
“In addition, this spectrum acquisition has enabled Airtel to drastically reduce the payout towards spectrum usage charge (SUC) and eliminate the adverse SUC arbitrage compared to new entrants,” it adds.
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With the purchase, Airtel now has the widest mobile broadband footprint across India, which makes it “well-positioned” to usher in the 5G revolution in the country.
Airtel now plans to launch 5G services in every part of the country starting with key cities. The company is convinced that its higher-quality customer base will adopt 5G devices at a rapid pace in the country.
“Airtel is delighted with the results of the 5G auction. This spectrum acquisition at the latest auction has been a part of a deliberate strategy to buy the best spectrum assets at a substantially lower relative cost compared to our competition,” says Airtel’s managing director and CEO Gopal Vittal.
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“This will allow us to raise the bar on innovation and address the emerging needs of every discerning customer who demands the best experience in India. We are confident that we will be able to deliver the best 5G experience in India in terms of coverage, speeds and latency,” he adds.
“This will allow us to change a lot of established paradigms for both our B2C and B2B customers. 5G technology is the revolution that can alter India’s manufacturing, services and several other sectors. We remain fully committed to the government’s Digital India vision and will continue to do what is needed to ensure that India becomes a beacon for the world in terms of technology.”
Shares in Singtel closed 3 cents higher or 1.15% up at $2.64 on Aug 1.
