While Vodafone has claimed that it would be a market leader in the country by 2010, Bharti Airtel seems to be in no mood to give up its number one position.
NEW DELHI: The world’s largest mobile operator, UK-based Vodafone, should not have any different impact on Bharti Airtel than what Hutch Essar has had on it, Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal said on Friday. Mittal was announcing Bharti Airtel’s annual financial results.
Asked whether he feared competition from Vodafone, Mittal said, “we have had the highest level of competition from Hutch. Vodafone should not have any different impact on us.” Mittal added, “we gave them (Vodafone) a release within minutes of their request.” Vodafone had in 2005 picked up around 10% stake in the Bharti group. It recently surrendered the 5% direct holding following its deal with Hutch, to comply with Indian laws.
While Vodafone has claimed that it would be a market leader in the country by 2010, the current leader, Bharti Airtel, has clearly pointed out that it is in no mood to give up its number one position. On Friday, Mittal reiterated that stand. “Vodafone will do its best, but we hope to increase our market share this year itself,” he said.
Bharti is the leader in the wireless space with 22.9% market share, while Hutch has 16.9% of the market share.
Mittal also spoke about network-sharing with Vodafone also. Bharti is aiming for maximum network sharing with Vodafone, at 70 to 80%. A MoU is already in place between Bharti and Vodafone on network-sharing.
Bharti is planning to set up 30,000 new towers across the country this financial year, in addition to its existing 40,000 towers. Around 55 to 60% of the new 30,000 sites are expected to be in rural areas. For network expansion, the group is planning an investment of up to $3.5 billion this financial year.
On 3G spectrum allocation through auction, as indicated by communications minister Dayanidhi Maran, Mittal said, “Bharti will participate in the auction.”
But he maintained that 3G tariffs should be affordable. Bharti and other GSM players are believed to be in talks with the government to ensure that the entry fee is not steep.
While stating that the group is exploring opportunities to acquire telecom assets in other parts of the world, he did not pinpoint the regions. It is learnt that Middle-East and Africa are among the regions that Bharti is looking at. Bharti recently entered the Sri Lanka market.
In the enterprise segment, Bharti plans to participate in at least two consortiums for international submarine cable. This will help the company carry enterprise traffic to the US and Europe.
Meanwhile, value-added services will be a focus area for the company this year. According to Bharti officials, innovative value-added services would be launched in the areas of music, money transfer, sports and gaming this year.
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