Bharti Airtel, a leading Indian telco, is expecting its capex (capital expenditure) to moderate from FY25 onwards. Gopal Vittal, Bharti Airtel's CEO, said during the fourth quarter's investor call that FY24 was the peak level of capex that they touched and from FY25, it will start lowering. During FY24, Airtel rolled out 5G in many parts of the country, which drove the capex level upwards.
Airtel on Unlimited 5G Data Offer
Talking about the unlimited 5G data offer, Vittal said that Airtel just responded to what was happening in the market (referring to the unlimited 5G that Jio was offering). Because of the unlimited 5G offer, people who can pay more for data don't need to, as it is a one-size-fits-all offer. He hopes that "sanity prevails" in the industry.
Read More - How Bharti Airtel's Homes Business Performed in FY24
Airtel on Tariff Hike
On tariff repair, Vittal said Airtel could only go ahead with the hikes if the competition also does, otherwise it will hurt Airtel's customer base. Airtel is not very worried about the SIM consolidation that happens after a hike. Airtel's ARPU (average revenue per user) stood at Rs 209 at the end of Q4 FY24.
Airtel's target is to reach an ARPU of Rs 300, but even the Rs 300 figure would be very low compared to the rest of the world, he said. Bharti Airtel will look to reach Rs 300 ARPU with multiple rounds of tariff hikes.
Read More - Bharti Airtel Q4 FY24: ARPU at Rs 209, Net Profit at Rs 2072 Crore
Airtel CEO's Remarks on Vodafone Idea
Gopal Vittal said that he is glad to see Vodafone Idea raising money, and wishes them well. India should be a three player country, he believes. He was referring to Vodafone Idea raising Rs 18,000 crore via a FPO (follow on public offer).
Airtel on 5G FWA or Airtel Xstream AirFiber
Vittal confirmed that Airtel is deploying 5G SA (standalone architecture) for FWA (fixed-wireless access) services. While it is not a wide 5G SA rollout at this point, that is where the telco seems to be heading.
The telco is planning to roll out 25,000 new mobile sites in the coming quarters. This year, the new sites will be comparitively lesser than the previous year, as Airtel looks to lower capex.
