Airtel may spend $8 bln over next 3 yrs on 5G, 4G expansion; price hikes key: Analysts

Kolkata: Bharti Airtel will rely heavily on an upward revision in mobile tariffs in the medium term to sustain a whopping $8 billion (Rs 56,000 crore) of incremental investments it is estimated to make over the next three years in greenfield 5G rollouts and in expanding existing 4G networks, analysts said.

Rajiv Sharma, co-head of research at SBICap Securities, estimates Bharti Airtel will need to invest “an incremental $5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) over the first three years even for a selective 5G rollout, and an additional $3 billion (Rs 21,000 crore) for 4G expansion, for which mobile pricing will need to be revised upwards, primarily to support upcoming investments in 5G spectrum and networks.”