A meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2018 was the turning point in the life cycle of Bharti Airtel, which on May 27 crossed $100 billion in market capitalisation.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, emphasized that Airtel s resurgence post the challenges posed by Reliance Jio s entry and the AGR ruling showcased India s stable economy and supportive policies under strong leadership. Reflecting on Airtel s path to the $100-billion milestone, Mittal highlighted the company s resilience amidst industry disruptions. He noted that Airtel s achievement as the first-generation Indian company to reach this milestone was significant, especially considering the competitive landscape.
Reliance Jio: As per latest telco spectrum data collated by Axis Capital, Airtel’s sub-GHz spectrum holdings in 800, 900 MHz bands are significantly lower at 176 MHz compared to Jio’s 445 MHz. Jio’s sub-GHz spectrum holdings are larger than Airtel and Vi as it is the only telco with pan-India 700 MHz airwaves apart from nationwide 800 MHz spectrum. Vodafone Idea s (Vi) sub-GHz spectrum holding (900 MHz band only) is at 141.2 MHz.
Bharti Airtel: "It takes time to wipe off history. Secondly, the world over, you don t see more than three-four operators. You can t put $50 billion and start from ground zero. What Reliance did was unprecedented. You have to give them credit. I would say a strong balance sheet, massive execution capabilities, risk-taking abilities, and finally regulations. All these things have to come together."
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