With strong results, is telecom sector turning the corner?

July 30, 2014 06:31 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 02:01 am IST - NEW DELHI

A file picture of a set of telecom towers in New Delhi. Photo: V.V. Krishnan.

A file picture of a set of telecom towers in New Delhi. Photo: V.V. Krishnan.

Is the telecom sector, which had been buffeted by the Supreme Court order cancelling 2G licenses and sluggish economic growth, now turning the corner?

A day after telecom service operator Bharti Airtel posted strong results, equipment manufacturer Nokia also sees signs of turnaround on the strength of its showing over the past six months.

Senior Bharti official Gopal Vittal had described Bharti’s 60 per cent jump in net income during this fiscal’s first quarter as signalling a sustaining of growth momentum, Nokia’s India region head Sandeep Girotra flagged three unresolved issues but felt the company and the sector were headed in the right direction.

During the first six months of the current calendar, Nokia had bagged 12 deals as against nine in the same period last year. The number was just seven in the second six months of the last calendar year, Mr. Girotra told select newspersons in New Delhi on Wednesday. Company officials however did not put out any numbers on grounds of confidentiality deals signed with telecom operators.

“Indian telecom market is reviving thanks to a stable Government. We are seeing significant investments in mobile broadband by telecom operators,’’ he said while giving his views on three aspects. The first, spectrum sharing, was a step in the right direction but these were in very early stages and needed the right environment to flourish. Despite making equipment in India, Nokia wants the concept of Preferential Market Access to be “carefully analysed’’. The third issue – 10 per cent customs duty on some telecom equipment – also needed a review because growth of the telecom sector should not be sacrificed for the sake of buoyancy in customs revenue.

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