Following the acquisition of its 4G business by Bharti Airtel, Tikona Digital Networks (TDN) is planning to double its business in 18 to 24 months by expanding its fixed broadband services, targeting residential users as well as SMEs, the Economic Times cites CEO Prakash Bajpai as saying. According to the official, as part of Bharti Airtel’s acquisition of TDN’s 2300MHz spectrum and sites in five circles, the operator will take on roughly USD150 million TDN’s debt, leaving the ISP debt free. ‘After the transaction, Tikona will perhaps be a rare example of a debt-free company in telecom or data space with enough resources to grow. While the industry remains focused on the larger pie of mobile voice and data services, Tikona has ample opportunity to cater to the fixed broadband services,’ Mr Bajpai explained. Following the deal, TDN’s non-4G business and spectrum will be moved to Tikona Infinet Limited (TIL), which will become an integrated service operator to the home, enterprise and public Wi-Fi markets, the official added.
Commenting on the sale, Mr Bajpai noted that the demand for 4G frequencies had been limited prior to the October 2016 spectrum sale due to the under-developed 4G handset ecosystem in India, a factor which had held Tikona back from investing heavily in the technology.