Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal has called on governments and regulators to incentivise telecom operators to expand coverage in rural areas. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 in Barcelona, he emphasised the need for collaboration between terrestrial and satellite operators to bridge connectivity gaps for the last 400 million people, according to an ET report.
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Expanding Rural Connectivity
"We have a mission to finish the job of covering the last 400 million people. Compete on the strength of your brands, your services, but don't try to compete by building solo capital infrastructure," Mittal was quoted as saying on Day 1 of MWC.
Mittal criticised the duplication of infrastructure, urging telecom players to compete on services rather than capital investments. He also pushed for fair satellite spectrum allocation, particularly in rural and urban areas, while advocating for lower taxes and affordable spectrum pricing.
Mittal has recently said that the Bharti Group firmly believes satellite spectrum for rural and remote areas should be allocated on a shared basis. However, he also urged the Indian government and telecom regulator to establish a policy for satcom spectrum allocation in urban areas that ensures fair treatment for terrestrial operators.
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Collaboration Over Competition
According to the report, Mittal noted that all operators have been chasing urban, lucrative areas at the cost of rural markets, which disparately require mobile broadband coverage. He called on operators not to fight each other, but to work together.
"How many fibre highways are enough? How many duplicate towers are enough? India had 12 operators at its peak. Spectrum was fragmented, small networks were being built," the Bharti Airtel chairman reportedly remarked.
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Financial Burden on Telecom Operators
"This is one industry that is bearing the burden of building out the digital infrastructure across the globe. How much is this industry taking the load itself? The return on capital is just an average of 4 4 percent," Mittal reportedly said, highlighting the financial strain on operators.
With average industry revenue growth stagnating at 2 percent, he urged telecom authorities to lower taxes and allocate sufficient spectrum at affordable rates. He pointed out that operators face continuous demands to purchase expensive spectrum, investing USD 200 billion in capital expenditures annually.
