Bharti Airtel CEO says devices, networks, cloud adoption will be fired up with Google partnership

Hours after signing a $1 billion deal with internet giant Google, Bharti Airtel's Chief Executive Officer Gopal Vittal on January 28 said the partnership will give a boost to the company's devices, networks, and cloud adoption.

"Devices networks and cloud adoption will be fired up with Google partnership," Vittal said, adding that the partnership will provide the telecom operator with "cutting edge tech solutions".

Earlier in the day, Bharti Airtel announced that its board has approved the issuance of 7.1 crore equity shares to Google on a preferential basis.

According to Airtel, the partnership with Google will accelerate cloud adoption in SMEs and enterprises.

The telecom firm said it will develop India-specific 5G use cases along with Google. The company is "truly well poised for the future as our customers migrate to 5G", it said.

Vittal said that he expects 5G to rapidly scale up in India over the next two-three years.

The Bharti Airtel CEO clarified that the company currently has no plan to create its own smart phone devices but will build alliance.

The company noted that its partnership with Google is "much more strategic" than a financial investment via equity stake sale.

Airtel said its digital assets within themselves are "equivalent to five unicorns".

The telecom operator also stated that it has "zero conflict of interest" in working with different partners across verticals. Like Airtel, Google has several partnerships in India, it further pointed out.