AIRTEL PLANS $3-4 BILLION ANNUAL CAPEX

Indian telecom operator

has indicated that elevated network spending is here to stay, with the telecom operator expecting to keep investing $3-4 billion (approximately Rs 28,500-38,000 crore) annually despite completing the bulk of it's 5G rollout. This indicates that even as the peak 5G rollout phase winds down, technology upgrades and network expansion will continue to require multi-billion-dollar investments. It also comes as telecom operators grapple with a key challenge: turning heavy 5G investments into meaningful revenue growth. At the end of Mar26, the company had 373.2 million mobile users in India and 482 million customers overall, including FTTH, machine-to-machine and wireline connections. It's post-paid base stood at 29 million. The company sees an opportunity to upgrade nearly 90 million customers to post-paid plans while converting feature phone users to smartphones.