With competition snapping at its heels, Bharti Airtel is gearing up for the launch

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of its 3G services before the end of the year, though given the price paid for the rollout, there would be no deep discounts. In an interview with Rakesh Khar and Tejeesh N.S.Behl, Bharti Airtel’s CEO, India and South Asia, Sanjay Kapoor, hopes it will not just help in separating the men from the boys but also put the much needed brakes on sliding average revenue per user. Excerpts:

You have achieved the 200 million mark with India contributing about 150 million customers making you the fifth largest telecom player in the world. What next?

Bharti does not offer any outlook. But there is research available to suggest about 50 billion SIMs would be in use by 2025 globally and I would imagine India would have about 5 to 6 billion. We are getting into a growth phase where the market is undergoing a paradigm shift and this will lead to the big growth in numbers in India. We would hope to not only sustain our marketshare by revenues but also grow as we go along.

Where does this growth mainly come from?

India’s telecom user is under-serviced in many ways. Look at the broadband penetration today. It is about one per cent. The advent of 3G and the BWA is set to unleash a new telecom revolution in the country.

As market leader it is fair to paint a very rosy picture, but the ground situation is not very conducive with margins under pressure for most of the players.

Well, falling average revenue per user (ARPU) is obviously an issue. This has happened primarily on account of too many players in the market and steep decline in prices resorted to be some players. It is the declining price and excess supply which is responsible for the bottomline pressure. I can say with confidence that the industry would have looked far healthier if there was no price decline.

You are suggesting there are far too many players. Do you see consolidation happening anytime soon?

Look back and see when we had just four or five players in the market, the top two players did not have a combined market share of 50 per cent. But now with about 14 players in the fray, we have top two players cornering more than 50 per cent

market share.

Does it mean there is a business case for exit of several of the new players in the telecom space?

Consolidation has already begun in the minds of the consumer. Five players have between themselves 80 to 85 per cent market share. Now the 3G play would further separate the men from the boys. There has to be a policy framework for people to either exit or merge. That is yet to happen.

The telecom space has witnessed a lot of negativity in the recent past. The CAG report names your company as among the beneficiaries of extra spectrum. It also validates TRAI recommendation on linking excess 2G spectrum to 3G price. How do you view the development?

These are policy matters. We have seen many ups and downs as a company. We have kept our head above the water and hope to be able to do so in the future as well. We will as always go by whatever be the policy framework.

What is your line of defence to protect your extra 32.4 MHZ frequency allocated to you by DoT in view of CAG indictment?

There are various established forums in the country to vent your opinion if you are unhappy. We will go by the processes and formats available to us