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A Bharti Airtel office in Gurugram. File
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Telecom operator Bharti Airtel reported more than 2.5 times jump in its consolidated profit to ₹ 4,160 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, 2024, compared to the year-ago period.

The company posted a profit of ₹ 1,612.5 crore in the same period a year ago.

The consolidated revenue from operations of Bharti Airtel increased by 2.8% to ₹ 38,506.4 crore during the reported quarter from ₹ 37,440 crore in the June quarter of the last year.

Bharti Airtel’s India revenue increased by 10.1% to ₹ 29,046 crore on a year-over-year (Y-o-Y) basis.

Mobile average revenue per user (ARPU), a key matrix to determine telecom operators growth, of Bharti Airtel in India increased to ₹ 211 during the reported compared to ₹ 200 in the same period a year ago.

Bharti Hexacom net profit more than doubles to ₹ 511 cr in June quarter

Telecom operator Bharti Hexacom, which operates under the Airtel brand, reported over two-fold jump in its profit to ₹ 511.2 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, 2024, compared to ₹ 253.2 crore in the same period a year ago.

Total revenues of Bharti Hexacom increased by 14% on a year-over-year basis to ₹ 1,910.6 crore during the reported quarter from ₹ 1,681.7 crore a year ago.

Mobile revenues grew by 12.9% Y-o-Y on the back of improved realisation and sustained customer additions.

The Average revenue per user (ARPU), a key matrix to determine telecom operators’ growth, for the quarter increased to ₹ 205 from ₹ 194 a year ago driven by continued mix improvement and focus on quality acquisitions.

“We added 2.8 million smartphone customers to our network over last year, an increase of 16.3% YoY. We continue to deliver industry-leading ARPU along with growing average data usage per customer at 25.7 GB per month. We rolled out 268 network towers and 665 mobile broadband base stations in the quarter to further strengthen our coverage and provide seamless connectivity,” the company said in a statement.

New Delhi:

Telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel on Wednesday emerged as the biggest bidder for radio waves used to transmit mobile phone voice and data signals, cornering about 60 per cent of the Rs 11,341 crore worth of spectrum sold in an auction that ended within two days.

While Bharti Airtel bid and won airwaves worth Rs 6,856.76 crore, rival Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio – the market leader – got Rs 973.62 crore worth of spectrum – the least in the three-corner contest.

Vodafone Idea, the struggling telecom operator that recently got a fresh lease of life through India’s biggest follow-on share sale, bagged spectrum valued at Rs 3,510.4 crore.

An official statement said, in all, 141.4 MHz of radio waves were sold for Rs 11,340.78 crore.

The government had offered a total of 10 GHz of spectrum, ranging between 800 MHz and 26 GHz, which was worth Rs 96,238 crore at the base or auction start price.

However, only a small amount of the spectrum on offer was sold in seven rounds of auction.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have successfully renewed their expired spectrum in 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands, and further an additional quantum of 87.2 MHz worth Rs 6,164.88 cr has been acquired by telcos to augment their services.

“Spectrum auction 2024 was part of a continuous allocation process that is transparent, robust and progressive. Telecom service providers (TSPs) have taken spectrum not only for continuity of service but for expanding their services but the volume is limited because already a large part of the spectrum required was auctioned only last year,” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told reporters here.

He added: “We will continue the process with the clear objective of ensuring reliability and growth of telecom services in India.”

The bidding went above the reserve price in West Bengal and Bihar in the 1,800 MHz band.

In all, the realisations from the 2024 auction work out to just about 12 per cent of Rs 96,238 crore minimum value that the government had estimated for the spectrum on offer.

However, Telecom Department sources said that this is in line with, or even slightly above, expectations, given that deposits (EMDs) by telcos just ahead of the auction gave a clear indication of the extent of participation and sale.

Further, almost 99 per cent of the spectrum on the block did not see much interest, as telcos had already picked up spectrum in those specific bands in the last auction conducted in August 2022.

Bharti Airtel, the top bidder, bought 97 MHz of radio frequency for mobile services for Rs 6,856.76 crore.

Notably, debt-ridden Vodafone Idea bought 30 Mhz of spectrum for Rs 3,510.4 crore and Reliance Jio Infocomm bought 14.4 Mhz for Rs 973.62 crore.

“Bharti Airtel Limited, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and Vodafone Idea Limited have successfully bid and taken spectrum in this auction also for growth and continuity of services,” the statement said.

It said the level of response to the auction was on account of most of the 5G spectrum getting sold in the auctions that were held in August 2022 and their monetisation still in progress.

“As auction for 5G spectrum was held recently & 5G monetisation is still in progress, no bidding took place in 800 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands. A total quantum of 141.4 MHz (26.5 per cent) was sold from the balance 533.6 MHz spectrum. This is despite the fact that a very large amount of spectrum, that is, 51.2 Ghz of spectrum was sold in August 2022,” the statement said.

In all, available spectrum in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands were put to auction. Of these, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz and 2,500 MHz bands caught telcos’ fancy.

The unsold spectrum will again be put to auction next time, it said.

Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel, said the company continues to judiciously acquire the right amount of spectrum to deliver the best possible experience to its customers.

“In this auction, we have bolstered our sub-giga hertz and mid-band holding which will significantly improve our coverage, especially indoor,” Vittal said.

A statement by Jio said the company has consolidated its leadership position by acquiring the right to use spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in the circles of Bihar and West Bengal.

Akash M Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm, said the company has already demonstrated its commitment to the Digital India vision by rolling out one of the world’s fastest and widest stand-alone 5G networks within 12 months of allotment of spectrum.

“This new spectrum acquisition will continue to enable us serving aspirations of the new India, in terms of growing traffic demands and superior customer experience, which is no longer limited to only urban markets,” Ambani said.

Akshaya Moondra, CEO, Vodafone Idea, said the company has strategically acquired spectrum in the select markets to enhance and strengthen its overall spectrum portfolio.

“This acquisition will enable us to effectively use dedicated sub GHz spectrum towards advanced technologies to enhance the experience we offer to our customers. As VIL embarks on its growth journey with the fund-raising plan in place, this spectrum acquisition will further strengthen its competitive position in the market,” Mr Moondra said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Sunil Bharti Mittal, the Founder and Chairperson of Bharti Enterprises, was awarded the Honorary Knighthood by King Charles III in the United Kingdom. Mr Mittal is the first Indian to receive a Knighthood from King Charles. 

He was awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. KBE is among the highest honours conferred by the British Sovereign to civilians. It is awarded in an honorary capacity to foreign nationals. 

“I am deeply humbled by this gracious recognition from His Majesty, King Charles. UK and India have historical relations, which are now entering a new era of increased cooperation and collaboration,” Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

“I remain committed to working towards strengthening the economic and bilateral trade relationships between our two great nations. I am thankful to the Government of the UK, whose support and keen attention to the needs of business has been critical in making the country an attractive investment destination,” he added.

Sunil Bharti Mittal was conferred with Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, in 2007. He served as Chair of the B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration during India’s G20 Presidency. He is also a serving Commissioner at the International Telecommunication Union/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development. 

Knighthood, the Knight Commander (KBE), is conferred for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity (usually, but not exclusively, at the national level), or in a capacity recognised by peer groups as inspirational and significant nationally and demonstrates sustained commitment.

The KBE is awarded in an honorary capacity to foreign nationals. While the Knighthood conferred on UK nationals gives them the title of Sir or Dame, non-UK nationals conferred with the Honour, add KBE (or DBE for women) after their name instead of using titles such as Sir or Dame. Previous recipients of the Honorary KBE include Ratan Tata (2009), Ravi Shankar (2001) and Jamshed Irani (1997).