Bharti Airtel has called on the government to keep spectrum prices affordable to give telcos the financial headroom to invest meaningfully in 5G networks. Further, Airtel has also underlined the need for strong collaboration between the government, private sector and academia to leverage the power of next-gen high-speed broadband technology and build a vibrant 5G ecosystem, spanning devices, networks, apps and services.
At an event held by FICCI recently, Gopal Vittal, chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel said that affordable spectrum is one of the critical enablers for Digital India so that telcos can invest in building networks rather than spending money on just airwaves.
Earlier, Airtel had stated that it would give 5G spectrum auctions a miss if airwaves are auctioned at the reserve prices set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as they were unaffordable.
