Airtel, Vodafone may team up in optical fibre space to fight Reliance Jio

BARCELONA: Hit by steep competition unleashed by Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea are likely to team up in the optical fibre space, which will increasingly become the backbone of future network expansion. Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal said on Tuesday that he has “invited” Vodafone-Idea to be a partner in his fibre company Telesonic, and the two can pool together assets.
“We have given an invitation. We did that in towers, and if you remember, Indus Towers was created. On the same lines, we have asked Vodafone-Idea to come and join the fibre company.” Asked about the reaction from Vodafone-Idea, he said, “Warm response.” The partnership with Vodafone-Idea will help Airtel save costs by cutting down on duplication in expansion of the fibre network.
The Airtel chairman said there will be synergies through the joint venture if the two companies decide to come together. “They have a lot of fibre, we have a lot of fibre. Though we have lot of overlaps, both of us will gain about 25% capacity and new routes which we don’t have… So, you stop wasting money.”