Airtel says hike rates, but shuns first step
burn that is happening. You are seeing that every day. You have some operator closing down some circles. Ultimately it is leading to consolidation."
On whether a price hike could be expected in the near future in the telecom sector, Kapoor said: "Nobody can give you a timeline. The need for a price hike is more than accepted by me and by my colleagues in the industry."
Asked to comment on the upcoming 2G spectrum auction, he said there is not much attraction due to high reserve price of Rs 14,000 crore, although the industry as a whole is supportive of the auction process.
Kapoor said if the country is to be transformed from voice to data, then 5 MHz spectrum is not going to be enough.
"If you are an operator who wants to look at the long term prospects of the being in the industry, and to transform this nation from voice to data than the amount of spectrum to be put on table is not going to be 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 20MHz it will probably be 50-60-70 MHz," he said.
"That is the sort of spectrum required and if you are going to be buying that spectrum at these prices, where will be the business case?" he wondered.
