Sunil Mittal on the latest telecom tarrif wars

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Sunil Mittal on the latest telecom tarrif wars

Bharti Airtel's chairman says that the battle is not being fought from their side.

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Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Sunil Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel , spoke on the latest pricing war in the telecom sector. He said we have always said we will never lead the price wars and we have never led price wars but responding to the needs of the markets it's something that every sector, every industry has to do. "Our tariffs are still at not any point where the other operators are. We offer better services, better coverage, deep distribution, international roaming and new innovative services. So, I believe we don't have to fight war on tariffs," he added.

Below is an excerpt of the exclusive conversation with him. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: It is being fought on tariffs?

A: Not from our side.

Q: But for the industry it has been fought on tariff.

A: People who have no business can only fight on tariffs and we have to deal with that.

Q: What is the sense that you are now getting about 3G auction because the dateline has been deferred again?

A: We are worried that it continuously gets delayed for one reason or the other. We hope that this 3G auction happens sooner than later. India needs broadband wireless more than any other nation and we truly hope it happens earlier.

Q: What about retail and your retail plans because the cash and carry operation for Wal-Mart has been hugely successful with the one that has already taken off. You have scaled down your retail plans given the global economic downturn but where do things currently stand as far as retail is concerned?

A: We have not scaled down; we have not scaled up because there was no reason. This was the plan. We had to open 30-40 stores, they have been opened up. More cash and carries are under plan, every few months you see them opening. We are not going very fast on this. This is a measured approach and as per the plan.