New Delhi, Aug 4: Amid Vodafone Idea’s struggle to stay afloat, Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday asserted that a large nation like India needs three private players in telecom, and hoped the government would take measures to offer relief to the financially-stressed industry.
Vittal said the recent changes effected by Airtel in some of its plans is a step towards raising Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), which is currently “abysmally low”. At the same time, he indicated that the company, which already has a premium positioning in the market, may not initiate a broader tariff revision unilaterally and risk any erosion of customers and competitiveness.
On the Supreme Court dismissing applications by telcos for recalculation of AGR-related dues, Vittal said while Airtel is “disappointed” with the outcome, the company has provisioned for the onerous payout and already paid over Rs 18,000 crore covering its obligations for the first few years. “On the next steps relating to any review petition, we will be guided by legal advice and no decision has been taken on this yet,” Vittal said at Airtel’s Q1 earnings call.