Q&A: Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Airtel

'Stagnant revenues a concern'

Bharti Airtel Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Bharti Mittal, in an interview with Surajeet Das Gupta, speaks on a wide range of subjects on the Indian telecom industry, as well as global trends. Excerpts from an interview at the GSMA conference in Barcelona:

What do you think is your next big area for acquisition? What about the potential in India?
We are present in 16 out of 38 African states. So, there is a lot of potential there for growth. India will see consolidation, but it does not make sense for two small operators to merge. It also does not make sense for us to go for it, except for spectrum. However, with an open auction possible, it again makes no sense.

But will data pick up? Do you think you would be at a disadvantage, since firms like Reliance Industries are already in the LTE space with BWA, while you are still in the 3G space?
Our 3G experience shows that the data space is flying. We have four circles in which we have BWA licences and our networks are LTE ready. So, we will launch some services in the end of this year on dongles. Also, all of us will have roaming networks on LTE with other operators and offer services from 2G to LTE. Customers will be using devices which work on various networks. We also expect more auction of 3G and 2G spectrum in the near future.

Is the stagnant revenue in Indian telecom a concern?
Yes, we are worried. We need to be concerned that in the last eight quarters, there has been no revenue growth but minutes of usage have gone up. Surely, there is need for consolidation. And the regulator is saying that we should pay more for spectrum. This will only add to the pressure.

What about regulatory policies on mergers?
I think we should have a liberal merger and acquisition policy and the transfer of spectrum should be allowed.

Do you think the earlier trend, in which companies fought to get a telecom licence because it was at a premium, is over?
I think the trend is present all across the world. I see it in Africa, where no one wants to buy the new operators. I see it in Indonesia, where the last two or three licences are finding it difficult to secure buyers.

What about your African Zain operations?
We are on track, the rebranding is over. IT infrastructure, network and call centre orders have been placed. Also, as the rollout in India has slowed down, most of the companies here are happy that there is work in Africa for the rollout of the network.

In Zambia, you seem to have got into a problem with shareholders on delisting the company (Zain).
Yes, we have 97.7 per cent stake and we wanted to delist. However, some shareholders have objected. We will reapply for the permission to do so again.