Speaking at a public platform in the presence of ministers, government officials, and Mukesh Ambani, Airtel chief Sunil Mittal addressed the need for collaboration with Reliance Jio and other industry players on technologies for the future. The call comes at a time when his company remains headlocked in a bitter battle with Jio over issues including tariffs, interconnect charges, data speed and market share.
“Clearly as Mukesh pointed out, none of us can do it alone. We will all have to come together, while we compete head-on, for the benefit of customers,” Mittal said. “We have to collaborate among ourselves, create ecosystem, use common towers, hopefully common fibre.” Mentioning Ambani a couple of times, he said, “Mukesh is putting up a lot of investment and I think other telcos are doing the same. Overall, £5 to 6 billion is going in one year to build hard digital infrastructure. BSNL is also doing, and so are other smaller companies.” Mittal also spoke about Airtel's £1 billion investment made till September this year, and plans to invest another £1.8 to 2 billion.
Ambani who spoke before Mittal, and also referred to him as "my good friend from the industry". As he lauded the "unparalleled" pace at which the Indian mobile industry has grown over the past one year, Ambani spoke about the need for a greater cooperation between the various industry players and the government to build next-generation technologies. "We must break silos and forge partnerships. No corporate, nor the government, can do it alone. Together, we can achieve the unimaginable." Ambani said there are plenty of opportunities in India which gives space for companies to work together and grow together. "Let's not forget: India provides a big enough opportunity for all of us to grow and prosper, together."
Such was the effect of the bonhomie between the two industry leaders, who walked into the hall while chatting with each other, that COAI director general Rajan Mathews said, "As long as you continue to refer to each other as friends, I think the industry is OK." The Reliance group chairman said that for India to mature into a $7.5-trillion economy over the next decade, the IT and telecom industry needs to play a "foundational role" in creating digital infrastructure. Ambani said that data has emerged as the new oil.
