Airtel sustains $3-4bn annual capex as it targets 5G returns through post-paid upgrades
Bharti Airtel plans to maintain $3-4 billion in annual network investment beyond its core 5G rollout, focusing on premium post-paid migration, network slicing, home broadband, data centres and sovereign cloud. The operator has identified nearly 90 million users as potential post-paid upgrade candidates.
Bharti Airtel plans to sustain $3-4 billion in annual network capex after its main 5G rollout, seeking returns through premium post-paid plans, Fastlane network slicing and home broadband. It targets post-paid upgrades and prioritizes data centres, sovereign cloud and shareholder returns.
Why this matters
The sustained capex plan supports Airtel's recent growth pattern: analysts forecast 15% Q1FY27 revenue growth, rising profit on subscriber adds and ARPU, and expanded AI fraud controls.
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