Bharti Airtel signs more LCO partnerships in non-wired cities extending model to 48 cities

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel yesterday announcing its quarterly results stated that it had signed on many more LCO partnerships in non-wired cities, extending the model to over 48 cities.

The company during the quarter re-calibrated its offering and launched Xstream bundles with content and unlimited internet to accelerate the penetration of wired broadband.

Airtel Homes services expanded their reach to 145 cities in the quarter, up from 117 at the end of Q1 FY 21. The company added 129K new customers during the quarter to reach a subscriber base of 2.58 million as net additions picked up pace. Airtel’s ARPU from Homes services took a hit coming to Rs 783 in Q2 FY 20.

For the unaware, the LCO model involves billing, plan, and customer relationship being handled by Bharti Airtel while the last mile fiber is managed by the local cable operator for Bharti Airtel. The local cable operators get the revenue share for laying the last-mile fiber, maintain it, and everything else.

The company has already ventured into many cities using the LCO model which has been impressive with Gopal Vittal in July saying that Airtel would accelerate the expansion in the next 6 to 12 months.