iWorld
Q4 FY22: Bharti Airtel posts revenues of Rs 31,500 crore
Mumbai: Telecom major Bharti Airtel has reported fourth quarter FY 2022 revenues of Rs 31,500 crore, up by 22.3 per cent year-on-year. The company’s consolidated net income stood at Rs 2,008 crore.
The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 116,567 crore up by 20.2 per cent YoY and consolidated net income of Rs 4,255 crore.
The company’s India business posted quarterly revenues of Rs 22,500 crore, up 22.7 per cent YoY. The company’s mobile business grew by 25.1 percent on account of increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). The ARPU for the quarter stood at Rs 178 versus Rs 145 in the corresponding quarter last year.
The company added 21.5 million 4G customers in the last year and has surpassed over 200 million 4G customers. The average data usage per data customer stood at 18.8 Gbs/month and voice usage per customer stood at 1083 minutes. Its home business segment revenues grew by 45.8 per cent YoY and customer net additions grew by ~323K during the quarter to reach a base of 4.5 million. Its digital TV business had a customer base of 17.6 million at the end of the quarter. Airtel Business grew by 12.9 per cent YoY. Airtel reported 189 million monthly active users (MAUs) across its digital assets including Thanks, Mynk and Xstream.
“This has been another quarter to cap a full year of consistent and competitive performance across our portfolio,” said Bharti Airtel MD and CEO India and South Asia Gopal Vittal. “Our consolidated revenues for the quarter grew by 5.5 per cent and EBITDA margins expanded to 50.8 per cent, underscoring our focus on all round delivery. The mobile business revenues were up 9.5 per cent as we saw the full flow through of tariff increase. Airtel continues to have the highest ARPU at Rs 178. Our Homes and enterprise business continue to exhibit very strong growth momentum, reflecting the resilience of our overall portfolio. Our strong balance sheet and cash flows have enabled us to further repay some of our spectrum liabilities ahead of schedule and improve our leverage.”
He further said, “We continue to remain optimistic about the opportunities in the coming years and believe we are well poised as a company for three reasons. First, our ability to execute consistently to a simple strategy of winning with quality customers and delivering the best experience to them. Second, our future proofed business model with massive investments in both infrastructure and digital capabilities. Finally, our financial prudence backed by our strong governance focus.”
iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
