Airtel 5G to be in 7000 towns, 100,000 villages by March 2024: Vittal

Direct to consumer OTT players will need to ally in order to address the distribution challenge and telecom operators like Airtel can help them tackle it, Bharti Airtel chief executive Gopal Vittal said.

Speaking at Ficci Frames 2023 in Mumbai, Vittal said that currently, there is different regulation for different content delivery pipelines – cable, DTH, and streaming applications.

“The business model that the OTT platforms work on needs to be changed otherwise many will perish,” he said.

“They have to break the problem of the distribution and monetization challenge. Now we are in a unique position because we have no ambitions and no intentions of ever competing with a content company,” Vittal added.

He stressed that Airtel does not want to own, create or buy content, but can help OTT players reach it’s customer base of 330 million as an ally.

“We can actually help you solve the distribution problem,” he said addressing the audience which included content makers, and broadcasters.

Talking about the importance of the telecom industry, Vittal also said that it has been crucial in the growth of industries like cab hailing and food delivery apps.

On the 5G rollout, he elaborated that Airtel has already launched its 5G services in 3500 towns, and by March 2024, Airtel 5G Plus will be present in 7000 towns, and nearly 100,000 villages.

He added that 5G monetization and resulting ARPU growth will only happen with tariff hikes and currently both Airtel and competitor Reliance Jio are offering 5G services for free.

However, there has been an increase in data consumption on the back on 5G service launch.