Affordable spectrum access to build Digital India critical: Airtel CEO

Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Officer Gopal Vittal on Thursday said the telecom sector was the 'backbone' for India and businesses, and therefore, requires improved access to infrastructure.

He said telecom plays a critical role in all aspects - right from ensuring the seamless functioning of payment systems and work-from-home, to ensuring remote access to quality health care and enabling online education for children.

"One of the most critical enablers for Digital India is improved access to infrastructure, affordable and easy access to right of way (RoW), so we can lay out fibre when needed, affordable spectrum...so we can invest in building networks rather than spend money on just airwaves, and finally stable and long-term policies to encourage more investments with lesser risks," said Vittal at the Global R&D Summit 2020.

In 2016, the Union government had brought out the RoW policy - essentially a framework for setting up telecom towers, laying fibre cables, settlement of disputes, and improving coordination among the various stakeholders.

Vittal reiterated Bharti Airtel’s stance on the base price of airwaves in the next round of auctions for 5G spectrum.

He said the reserve price for the next spectrum auction is unaffordable.

Airtel has time and again said the company finds the reserve price, fixed by the Telecom Regulatory of India, high and may refrain from bidding for the spectrum.

Besides Vittal, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said India is in a position to play a leading role in the global arena, not only in the health care sector, but also in building a post-Covid economy.

"So, that itself is a reflection of our scientific fraternity - in this case, of course, the medical fraternity rising to the occasion at short notice, and reorienting itself to a crisis, which was actually alien to the entire world," said Singh.