Airtel plans big CAPEX hike this year

India’s largest cellular operator by subscribers, Bharti Airtel, has announced plans to invest between USD3.0 billion and USD3.2 billion in the current financial year to expand its networks at home and across its African operations, TelecomLead reports. The CAPEX spend marks a significant increase from the INR105.843 billion (USD1.75 billion) the group laid out in its fiscal year to 31 March 2014. Airtel India CEO Gopal Vittal revealed at a recent analyst meeting that the investment will mainly go towards expanding its 3G footprint, with the operator not currently looking at a mass-market move towards 4G technology. Up to USD800 million of the CAPEX will be spent on Airtel’s African operations which span 18 markets.