Telecom industry right size now, says Bharti Infratel’s Akhil Gupta

Consolidation is the key and the telecom industry has the right number of players and 5G will unlock value for consumers across sectors was the moot point at ET Telecom India Mobile Conclave.

“5G is a natural evolution and India is at the negotiation table at world stage when it comes to 5G , so we have less time lag this time,” said Akhil Gupta, chairman Bharti Infratel at the conclave.

“The industry structure with four players is right size and with time there will be increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) and the sector is poised for good times ahead,” said Gupta who was part of the panel discussion on the ‘National Telecom Policy 2018 : A new revenue engine for telcos’.

The telecom regulator called for more infrastructure sharing and network improvement and reiterated that India will be the 5G leader. “India is ready for 5G. We will be the leaders and not followers. 5G will bring in IoT, high bandwidth for users,” said SK Gupta, secretary for telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) who was one of the panelists.

He added that policies need to be reviewed keeping in mind how the telecom industry has changed down the years. “Telecom is now the backbone of all services. One needs to re look at spectrum allocation as well,” said Gupta.

Anchored by Supriya Srinate of ET Now, telecom industry’s representatives also debated and discussed on taxes.

“The telecom industry has responsible corporates. Investment surplus for the industry needs to go up.,” said P Balaji, director for Vodafone India.

Mathew Oommen, president of Jio Infocomm (Jio) too called in for reasonable taxes that will leave operators with more capital available for investments in latest technology like 5G. He added that 5G ecosystem may come by 2020 and till then one needs to reinforce and develop technology like 4G -Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).

At the global level too many operators are working to bring in 5G said Qualcomm president Jim Cathey who said that 5G is expected to debut in 2019 and in India demand for data will bring in 5G faster than expected.

The panel also discussed tariff prices, while deliberating upon issues such as sustainability and growth. Rajan Mathews, director general for cellular operators association for India (COAI) highlighted that while ARPU at global levels is $75, in India it is around $3 and more intervention is needed from regulators.

Mani Manimohan, senior director, global public policy for GSM Association said that while ultimately consumers will benefit, it will matter what policies like net neutrality are taken up in the right manner.