Airtel and Tata Group in Talks for Potential DTH Merger

By siliconindia  |  Wednesday, 26 February 2025, 03:25:26 PM IST

Airtel and Tata Group in Talks for Potential DTH Merger
Telecom behemoth Bharti Airtel Ltd. confirmed that it has bilateral talks with Tata Group for a possible merger of Tata Play's Direct-To-Home (DTH) business with Airtel's subsidiary Bharti Telemedia.
The development was issued after media reports had indicated that the two groups were close to sealing a big DTH merger. In a filing with stock exchanges, Airtel made clear, "We desire to file that Bharti Airtel Limited ('Airtel') and Tata Group are engaging in bilateral negotiations for considering a probable transaction towards an achievement of amalgamation of Tata Group's Direct To Home ('DTH') business residing under Tata Play Limited with Bharti Telemedia Limited, the subsidiary of Airtel, in a composition acceptable to both parties".
But Airtel stressed that the talks are in preliminary stages. The combined company may be controlled by Airtel, which could own 52-55%, with the rest held by Tata Play shareholders such as Walt Disney.
Tata Play, which is a 70:30 joint venture between Tata Sons and Disney, and Airtel had a combined subscriber base of 35 million as of September last year, making up more than half of the industry's 60 million subscribers. The two companies are said to be valued between Rs 6,000 crore and Rs 7,000 crore each.
Simultaneously, Airtel also announced a partnership with Ericsson to launch its 5G Standalone (SA) network technology to improve network capabilities and enable a smooth migration to full-scale commercial 5G services. Ericsson will provide critical 5G equipment, such as its 5G core solutions and signaling controller, to enable Airtel's future 5G plans.
"Ericsson's long-standing collaboration with Airtel has reached an exciting new chapter, with the deployment of Ericsson's 5G core solutions to enable Airtel's migration to 5G Standalone. This deployment will be a key enabler of Airtel's future 5G strategy, enhancing network capacity and facilitating the delivery of innovative, differentiated services to customers", said Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer at Airtel.
The roll-out of Ericsson's 5G SA-capable charging and policy solutions will add further momentum to Airtel's monetization strategy, promoting the creation of new business models. In contrast to Non-Standalone (NSA) mode, which stacks 5G on top of 4G and 3G infrastructure, the SA mode is based exclusively on 5G technology, with the benefits of higher speeds and reduced latency.
While Airtel considers expanding its dominance in the DTH market via a possible Tata Play merger, its parallel 5G drive with Ericsson highlights the company's zeal to sustain leadership in both telecommunications and digital entertainment markets.
Watch this space for more updates as negotiations go on and Airtel moves towards its vision of a connected, high-speed world.

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