AGR was our issue as well, engaged with government for recalculation: Sunil Bharti Mittal

NEW DELHI: As the government begins reassessing the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel has also approached the department of telecommunications (DoT) seeking a similar recalculation of its own dues.

“From our own stand point, we are hoping and written to the government that AGR was our issue as well and we hope we get attention from the government,” Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said in an interaction with CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum at Davos.

Mittal’s comments come as the Union Cabinet last month froze Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues at ₹87,695 crore as of 31 December 2025, and approved a payment plan allowing the company to clear these dues between FY32 and FY41. Last week, the telecom department began reassessing Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues for the period from FY07 to FY19.

The reassessment exercise followed Supreme Court rulings in October and November that allowed the government to reassess and recalculate the company’s AGR dues.

Airtel has not yet received a response from the government on its request, Mittal said. “We heard from the minister yesterday that everybody needs to follow the route that Vodafone Idea followed which is via the (Supreme) Court,” he said, adding that the company wants to present its case to the government, particularly on reassessment and recalculation.

He said it is not a legal point, but a mathematical point and correction of errors. “We are engaged with the government first,” Mittal added, noting that the company is not taking the legal route for now.

Bharti Airtel’s deferred payment liability towards AGR was at ₹38,604 crore, according to its FY25 annual report.

When asked about the impact on the company following reassessment, Mittal said, for anybody the formula will be the same. The reassessment would involve checking the money paid by operators that has not been counted, and if there is double billing that has come through.

“If all that is established, your base principal goes down and then there is the cascading effect on penalty, interest on penalty and the amount can come down significantly,” he explained, adding that he does not think any government would want to take more money than its due. “We are saying take what is due. We are not asking for any concession. But don't take more than what is due.”

In terms of mobile subscribers market share, at 33.6% Airtel follows Reliance Jio which has a 41.4% market share. Vodafone Idea subscriber market share was at 17% as of November end, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

On the relief granted to Vodafone Idea, Mittal said, “We are hoping that Vodafone Idea will start to be more active in the marketplace.”

He added that a “three-plus-one” market structure is good for a country like India, as it keeps competition balanced from a customer perspective.

Bharti Airtel currently leads the sector in terms of average revenue per user (Arpu) of ₹256 a month as of September-end. On the prospect of tariff hikes, Mittal said, “Everyone agrees that tariff repair is absolutely essential. There is no one, including the government, who believes that you can have a very robust, solid infrastructure supporting the digital dreams of India without regular investments.”

Mittal reiterated Airtel’s aim to reach ₹300 Arpu. “There are billions of dollars going every year into the network, into spectrum. Therefore, there’s got to be a reasonable business use case out there,” he said.

This comes at a time when market leader Reliance Jio last week ruled out any immediate increase in tariff, signalling confidence in organic growth in its Arpu, driven by rising 5G usage. As of December end, Reliance Jio's monthly Arpu was at ₹213.7. Bharti Airtel is yet to declare its earnings for the December quarter.

Africa market

In Africa, Airtel is currently the second-largest telecom operator, with a subscriber base of 173.8 million as of the end of September. Earnings growth and profitability, however, continue to be weighed down by currency weakness across several African markets.

“If currency remains in secular depreciation mode, which is 3-4% a year, I think Airtel Africa could get to a $10 billion revenue,” Mittal said, adding that if currencies had not depreciated sharply, revenues would already have been in the $17-18 billion range.

Africa is among the fastest-growing telecom markets globally, Mittal said. “The market is growing at over 20%. You don’t get to see that anywhere.”

Airtel Africa currently generates about $6 billion in revenue and that $10 billion in revenue and around $5.5 billion of Ebitda is a realistic possibility, he added.

Capex

On growth opportunities, Mittal said Airtel is aggressively expanding its data centre and sovereign cloud businesses. Addressing capital expenditure (capex), he said, “Capex has not come down. We are spending ₹30,000 crore in capex every year. It will continue to be spent.”

He explained that investment requirements shift across technologies. If spending slows in 4G, it moves into 5G, and as 5G deployment tapers, capital is redirected toward fibre, fixed wireless access (FWA) and data centres.

“I would say a little more than ( ₹30,000 crore) than less than ( ₹30,000 crore) will be the order of magnitude (for capex),” Mittal said, adding that 6G standards are still being developed and are a few years away.

Navi Mumbai airport issue

A standoff has emerged between the Navi Mumbai International Airport and telecom operators over the provision of mobile connectivity at the airport. A similar dispute has played out on Mumbai Metro’s Aqua Line, where passengers have faced connectivity issues for nearly three months amid disagreements over commercial terms.

On the airport issue, Mittal said, “It is too much noise. I think it will get settled down. In the end, customers have to be served everywhere. Under the Indian Telegraph Act—old 1856 and 2023 now—right of way access, provision of services to customers is a must. Equally, airport operators put up a lot of equipment; they need to be given compensation for their return. Some balance will come out.”

Mittal said he was concerned about contracts being awarded to third parties for infrastructure such as tunnels and metro systems. These operators pay large sums for franchises and then seek to recover costs by charging telecom companies steep fees.

“What does that mean—customers suffer because we cannot pay obnoxious right of way charges to the tunnels and to metros,” he said.

Satcom

On Airtel’s satellite communications foray through Eutelsat OneWeb, Mittal said that with the capacity allocated for India, the company could generate about ₹200 crore in revenue.

“We will not be competing with Starlink or Amazon LEO in the consumer market. Our whole constellation is designed for enterprise services—Aero, maritime, defence, security needs of the nation,” he said, adding that the company is ready to roll out services once regulatory clearances are in place.