Airtel rejigs company structure to deepen digital focus

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has announced a reorganization of its corporate structure to sharpen focus on digital opportunities in India. 

Under the new structure, Airtel Digital Limited, the digital arm of the company, will be folded into the listed entity Bharti Airtel which will now house all of its digital assets, the company said in a statement. 

These include Wynk Music, Airtel X stream, Airtel Thanks, Mitra Payments platform, Airtel Ads, Airtel IQ, Airtel Secure, Airtel Cloud and all future digital products and services. 

Airtel Limited, a newly created wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, will house all the telecom businesses. Bharti Telemedia, the DTH services arm of the company, will sit alongside Airtel Limited for now.  

It plans to eventually fold the DTH business into Airtel Limited to comply with the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) norms.  

The company said it has sought clarifications from the government on licensing policy given that telecom and DTH are currently being regulated and managed under two separate ministries, Communications and I&B respectively. 

Airtel Payments Bank will continue to be a separate entity under Bharti Airtel. 

All of Airtel’s infrastructure businesses such as Nxtra and Indus Towers as well as its international subsidiaries and affiliates will continue to remain in separate entities. 

“The new structure sets the exciting future course for Bharti Airtel and provides focus on the four distinct businesses – Digital, India, International and Infrastructure, each, in a razor-sharp way. We believe this will provide agility, expertise and operational rigour to serve our customers brilliantly while providing flexibility to unlock value for our shareholders,” Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Airtel, said.