India needs 3 private players in telecom: Airtel CEO

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday asserted that a large nation like India needs three private players in the telecom sector, and hoped the government would take measures to offer relief to the industry that is facing “serious financial stress”. The comments assume significance in the backdrop of Vodafone Idea’s desperate struggle to stay afloat.

Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had in June this year offered to hand over the group’s stake in debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) to the government or any other entity to ensure that the company remains a going concern.

Speaking at the Q1 earnings’ call, Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal said, “I think just from national perspective, it would be appropriate to see an industry structure where three players not just survive, but thrive and of course the government player is always there.”

“I feel as a country we do need three players…it is a large enough country with 1.3 billion people, which can easily accommodate three (private) players in this market,” Vittal said.