Beetel CEO denies Micromax buyout, to focus on rejig

BANGALORE, INDIA: Bharti Airtel's Bharti Teletech (Beetel), telephony equipment giant, has said that it is realigning its processes to stay smart, nimble and focused so as to stay ahead of the curve. With competition in technology space getting intense, the company feels that it is wise to shut down few business verticals to keep operating cost down.

In a candid chat with CIOL, Bharti Teletech executive director and chief executive officer Mohit Parasher said that there was nothing wrong in the company. "Everything is as per plan. As per strategic review, certain business lines have been reduced to take focused approach," he said. The objective of restructuring, Parasher said, is to bring cost down and sharpen focus.

Bharti Teletech also denied its Micromax takeover as speculation. "There was no consultation between us and Micromax or any other company," he clarified.

The company said that it was refocusing and putting energies back onto distribution space. "We are looking at adding new business categories over a period of next couple of quarters, and therefore, would be expanding skillset," he informed. Parasher feels that new alliances are likely to form as they add new business portfolios.

Bharti Teletech also said that its revenue figures are on track. Despite the muted phase in 2013, the company would be increasing its play within the existing verticals by bringing value-addition to their offerings. "Our business is evenly split between the government and consumer divisions in the enterprise segment," said Parasher.

He felt that there was a potential in last-mile connectivity as government is spending a front end. "We are looking at national broadband network as an opportunity, but it would be too early to comment since tenders are yet to be floated," he added.

Parasher also reluctantly did not rule out the possibility of Beetel foraying into Aakash-like device production. "We are well positioned to provide seamless customer experience and facilitate enabling technologies for access devices. We can't say on entering into pure-play device manufacturing at this point in time," said a company's top official.

There is demand in unified communications in the enterprise sector, but in India, it's still at a nascent stage. The company said that it is strong in audio and video solutions, and is eyeing at expanding data market. "We are quite well positioned to take advantage of this transition," Parasher said.

The company is bullish about market prospects and said that its manufacturing facility in Ludhiana is well-equipped to scale up production.