Bharti Airtel invests Rs 30,000 crore on infrastructure in 2 years

Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has infused more than Rs 30,000 crore in the last two years on boosting its network infrastructure.

"... We have invested over Rs 300 billion over the past 2 years in adding new base stations and modernising our network infrastructure," Bharti Airtel said in its 'India Sustainability Report 2017' released today.

The telecom major said it deployed over 72,000 network base stations in 2016-17, in addition to the already functional sites of around 2.7 lakh.

"80 per cent of the sites launched in 2016-17 were high-speed broadband sites," the report said.

The company said it is installing renewable energy technology gradually across its several mobile tower sites which has led to a reduction in carbon emission from its network and saving of diesel consumption.

"In FY 2016-17, our energy saving initiatives have resulted in saving 1800 MWh units of electricity and 23 per cent of reduction in carbon-dioxide emission per square feet. Our reliance on diesel has dropped to 15 per cent of the total electricity usage," the report said.

Airtel said it is committed to reduce carbon footprint by 70 per cent by 2020.