Sunil Bharti Mittal. (0555427)
GUERNSEY Airtel’s arrival has given its parent company a foot in the door to Europe, according to its chairman and CEO.
Sunil Bharti Mittal said he has his eyes firmly set on the Continent and that the Channel Islands provide the perfect stepping stone. Guernsey’s third telecoms operator went live on Wednesday – six months late having failed to meet two OUR deadlines.
‘Our delayed arrival has meant we have lost a few millions, but for me this is small in absolute terms,’ said Mr Mittal, 50. ‘Bharti Airtel is a $10.6bn company, so this is not the area that I’m worried about.
‘What’s important is that we learn from our experiences so that once we succeed here we can move into Europe.’
Bharti Airtel is India’s biggest private sector telecoms operator with an estimated 61.9m. customers last month.
The company erects 3,000 masts a month and gains 2.5 million customers in India alone in that time.
According to Forbes, the media company which lists the world’s richest people, Mr Mittal is worth $11.8bn and also has interests in life assurance, agriculture and retail.
He was speaking at the Guernsey Airtel launch party at St James at which he thanked politicians for their support.
‘We went to the Seychelles many years ago and two operators were already there. There are challenges every time you enter a new market.
‘We are bigger than both Cable & Wireless and Wave in Jersey and we aim to achieve the same in Guernsey.
‘Two operators never give real choice to customers. They just operate, they don’t compete.
‘People here have already seen the benefits of our presence through cost-cutting before we even arrived. We promise there will be more to come in the future.’
Mr Mittal built up his business empire with his two brothers. He lives in Delhi and is married with three children.
He said that at heart he was an entrepreneur.
‘I’m not a scientist or a doctor, so what is my canvas in life? I’m the pioneer of telecoms in India and nothing gives me more pleasure than setting up and getting a network operational.
‘There are 8.5 million people who buy a mobile phone every month in my country and 2.5 million of them are purchased from my company.
‘But I don’t go into business just for the profits. For me it’s about expressing who I am.
‘The projects that I develop generate employment so I transfer the benefits to society. That’s what really important to me.’
Article posted on 28th March, 2008 - 2.29pm
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