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'2G scam won't have any bearing on telecom sector'
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 17 November 2010, 09:22 IST
New Delhi: According to telecom operator Bharti Airtel, the telecom sector is growing by leaps and bound and the current controversy on the spectrum allocation would not affect the growth.
"The Indian telecom industry will continue to flourish... everything else is immaterial", said Sunil Mittal, Bharti Group Chairman. Bharti Airtel is the largest telecom firm in the country with a subscriber base of 143 million in India.
The former telecommunication minister A Raja allocated 2G airwaves in 2008 at the 2001 rates of 
1,651 crore, benefitting some telecom players. His decision had cost the exchequer 1.76 lakh crores, according to the report submitted by the government auditor CAG.
Mittal also exuded confidence that the company will cross the 100 million subscriber landmark in Africa in two years where it has recently started operations through its acquisition of Zain Telecom.
Airtel had acquired Kuwait-based Zain's operations in 15 African countries in June in a deal valued at $10.7 billion. Bharti Airtel has a subscriber base of about 195 million across 19 countries. Mittal further added that the company is carrying a business model of India in Africa which is well established in the world now.
"We have had IBM coming to Nairobi last month and announce one of the biggest IT centers for Africa in Nairobi itself," he added.
1,651 crore, benefitting some telecom players. His decision had cost the exchequer 1.76 lakh crores, according to the report submitted by the government auditor CAG.
Mittal also exuded confidence that the company will cross the 100 million subscriber landmark in Africa in two years where it has recently started operations through its acquisition of Zain Telecom.
Airtel had acquired Kuwait-based Zain's operations in 15 African countries in June in a deal valued at $10.7 billion. Bharti Airtel has a subscriber base of about 195 million across 19 countries. Mittal further added that the company is carrying a business model of India in Africa which is well established in the world now.
"We have had IBM coming to Nairobi last month and announce one of the biggest IT centers for Africa in Nairobi itself," he added.