Airtel pivots to data centres, sovereign cloud "next area of focus": Sunil Bharti Mittal
New Delhi, October 14
Bharti Airtel is now pivoting towards data centres within India, with sovereign cloud emerging as its "next area of focus," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman Bharti Airtel.
Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, Mittal said countries are increasingly prioritising digital sovereignty, with growing emphasis on protecting sensitive data and ensuring it remains within national borders.
"Well, within India, our main focus now is turning towards data centers...sovereign cloud is becoming the next area of focus for us," he said.
Mittal highlighted the company's expansion plans, adding Airtel is rapidly scaling up its data centre infrastructure, with several new facilities being developed across major locations in the country.
"We are now moving from about 300 megawatts to a gigawatts in the shortest possible time frame and number of data centers are being built in South India and near Mumbai and around Delhi. So, that is one area," he said, stressing, "I think sovereign cloud is becoming the next area of focus for us."
Mittal further stressed that digital sovereignty is becoming an increasingly important consideration for countries to ensure "data is protected and within the country." Thus, Airtel is working towards establishing its own sovereign cloud infrastructure.
"So Airtel and our company are working very feverishly towards setting up our own sovereign data cloud on which we can serve our Indian enterprises, government, defense forces and that's becoming another area," he said.
Mittal also reflected upon India-US economic relations, adding, "US being the largest partner with India is still a work in progress."
According to Mittal, India-US trade relations face uncertainty amid higher tariffs, particularly as India's exports to the US exceed USD 100 billion, raising concerns over the future trajectory of bilateral trade.
On satellite connectivity, Mittal said India is at an advanced stage, with only final security clearances awaited. Once these come through, he said, the company will be able to connect "every square inch" of the country. In Africa, satellite services have already begun in partnership with a global provider.
— ANI
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