Airtel Might Invest Rs. 3,500 Crores; Plans To Expand To Data Centres Business

Airtel is reportedly planning to expand its data center in India. The telecom operator is likely to invest Rs. 3,500 crores in the next three years or five years as it wants to tap the growing needs of the store the digital information.

"Airtel through its subsidiary, Nxtra Data Ltd, will build up to eight data centers, which would include parks as well...each data park could host up to 100 MW. Some of these could be data center parks in Pune, Mumbai wherein the company has multiple buildings in one park," sources were quoted by ET.

However, the report said that Airtel declined to comment on the market speculations.

Increasing Demand Of Data Centre In India

Earlier, companies were not storing data in the country, but that has been changed and now they (companies) are storing data locally.

"Until recently, most of the data being consumed in India was coming from overseas. We used to go to the Internet, pick it up from the Singapore data center, and then consume it," the person explained why the demand for data centers has been increased in India. For the unware, Nxtra Data has already sold its 25 percent stake to Carlyle Group.

Airtel Investment Plans: Check Details

It is important to note that this development comes at that time when two big firms, Adani and Microsoft are already looking at the same sector.

In fact, a JLL in its report mentioned that the data center is likely to grow by 1,007 MW by 2023 from the 447 MW as demand for digital connectivity has been increased during the COVID-19 crisis. Earlier, the Adani group has forayed into the sector soon Microsoft is planning to enter into the same segment with the investment of Rs. 15,000 crores.

On the other hand, India's second-largest telecom operator Airtel is expected to make some announcements on the same. It is worth noting that the demand for data centers is likely to increase further as 5G is coming and the demand for IoT has been increased; however, one should not forget that it requires a lot of investment too.