Indus plans to host EV charging units across its vast network of telecom towers

NEW DELHI: Indus Towers Ltd, India’s largest mobile tower company, plans to utilize its vast base of telecom towers to charge electric vehicles as part of a strategy to tap this fledgling industry and morph into an overall infrastructure provider.

The move will allow the company to secure a unique revenue stream outside the traditional model of renting out its towers to mobile phone operators. It would also help Indus Towers reduce dependence on the troubled domestic telecom sector.

The telecom industry has witnessed severe disruptions after the entry of Reliance Jio in September 2016 with cheap tariffs, which eventually forced smaller operators to either close operations or consolidate—leaving just two operational entities, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel Ltd.