Business Daily meets: Rahul Vatts

Summary

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Business Daily Meets: Rahul Vatts

Podcast: Business Daily (BBC World Service)
Episode Date: September 25, 2025
Host: Divina Gupta
Guest: Rahul Vatts (Chief Regulatory Officer, Bharti Airtel)

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Episode Overview

In this special edition of Business Daily, host Divina Gupta sits down with Rahul Vatts, Chief Regulatory Officer at Airtel, one of India's largest telecom companies. The episode marks 30 years since the very first mobile phone call in India and explores the phenomenal transformation of the nation’s telecom sector—from the days of long queues at phone booths to the present era of widespread mobile and digital connectivity. The discussion covers key policy changes, the hurdles faced in expanding digital access to rural areas, and the next frontier of satellite internet. Rahul offers personal anecdotes, industry insights, and reflections on what it takes to guide policy in an ever-changing sector.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Evolution of India's Mobile Revolution (01:10–03:25)

• Personal Anecdote:
  Rahul recalls the drastic change in communication technology since his college days in the early 1990s, highlighting how difficult and expensive it was to make a phone call home from Pune to Delhi.

  “If I had to make a phone call to my house back in Delhi, I had to stand in queue... I used to wait till 10pm in the night to just call back at my home.” — Rahul Vatts (03:41)

• Comparison of Then vs. Now:
  Rahul contrasts the inconvenience and costliness of old systems (like standing in line to pay bills or make calls) with today’s instant digital convenience.

  “Sometimes I feel that we are lucky to see these two phases which are completely different from each other.” — Rahul Vatts (04:20)

2. Career Beginnings and Shifts (04:47–06:35)

• First Jobs:
  Rahul began in the pharmaceutical industry in a sales engineering role. His mother questioned whether this truly counted as "engineering" work, which spurred him toward a more technical role.

• Entering Telecom:
  The pivotal moment for Indian telecom was the first mobile call in 1995. Rahul shifted into the telecom industry in 1996, beginning with technical testing of networks and handsets.

  “There used to be a big handset of Siemens called S4... you had to log in at least 100 calls a day to check the network.” — Rahul Vatts (06:35)

3. High Costs and the Culture of Missed Calls (06:46–08:03)

• Early Mobile Call Costs:
  Calls could cost up to 16.80 rupees per minute (~$0.50), far more than landline calls.

  “Compare that to now where voice is completely free. So it was a very expensive thing.” — Rahul Vatts (06:51)

• Adaptation by Users:
  Due to high costs for both outgoing and incoming calls, people would use the "missed call" as a form of signaling.

  “People will not pick up phones because you were paying calls for incoming as well as for outgoing.” — Rahul Vatts (07:39)

4. Policy Breakthrough: Free Incoming Calls (08:03–09:17)

• Rahul describes the industry's lobbying efforts and how, in 2003, all operators agreed to scrap incoming call charges—a turning point that unlocked massive growth.

  “Government realized that uptake of services is linked to that particular commercial part. I think then it became like a journey.” — Rahul Vatts (08:17)

5. Expanding Coverage and Licensing Hurdles (09:17–09:40)

• Getting telecom licenses for under-served areas could take years—six months to two years for the license, and another two years for spectrum allocation.

  “Getting licenses in my younger days for areas which there were no coverage for was a big thing... it could take anywhere from six months to two years.” — Rahul Vatts (09:17/09:36)

6. Market Disruption and Satellite Internet (10:48–16:48)

• Jio’s Price War:
  In 2016, Mukesh Ambani’s entry into telecom with Jio compelled all operators, including Airtel, to radically reduce data prices, making India a global leader in affordable internet but also exposing coverage gaps.

• The Rural Challenge:
  vast populations in rural India remain unconnected due to the difficulty of reaching remote communities through traditional infrastructure.

• Satellite Internet Pilot:
  The host visits a rural school in Haryana where Airtel’s satellite project is piloted, delivering high-speed WiFi for the first time and enabling students to access online educational content.

  “The government can subsidize and government does have its own universal subsidy programs where government wants the coverage to happen. Because digital transformation... can really impact the growth of the entire unit.” — Rahul Vatts (15:53)

  • Rahul details Airtel’s partnerships with Eutelsat OneWeb and Starlink, focusing satellite internet first on government and enterprise use cases, with potential broader expansion.

  “Satellite is a very important part of coverage. It complements the current terrestrial coverage and really ensures that the gap which was existing from 96 to 100% is covered.” — Rahul Vatts (14:43)

7. Pricing, Affordability, and Subsidies (15:09–16:38)

• Affordability as a Challenge:
  Rahul emphasizes that the primary goal is coverage, not profit, especially for the unconnected—government subsidies are key, mirroring practices in other countries.

  “How much cost will you attribute to getting coverage into a village which has got no coverage today?... It's more important to give connectivity to people who have no coverage.” — Rahul Vatts (15:21)

8. Internet Freedom, Regulation, and Global Standards (17:06–19:03)

• Internet Shutdowns and Legal Compliance:
  The conversation touches on government-imposed internet shutdowns, content regulation, and Airtel’s legal obligations under Indian law.

  “Any licensee who takes a license in India is bound by the license conditions, bound by the law of the country.” — Rahul Vatts (18:42)

9. Personal Reflections and Leadership Advice (19:10–20:31)

• Maintaining Balance:
  Rahul shares that music, exercise, and living in the present help him de-stress.

  “Each day is a fresh opportunity, fresh challenge and fresh troubles... if you keep it day by day, it really holds good.” — Rahul Vatts (19:32)

• Qualities for Regulatory Leaders:
  Curiosity, multidisciplinary learning, people skills, and a focus on contributing to a larger purpose are crucial.

  “What really helps all the time is a very clear focus that whatever you do should have a larger meaning of what you really want to do... see the larger purpose and reflect on it.” — Rahul Vatts (19:53/20:31)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|-------|---------| | 03:41 | “If I had to make a phone call to my house back in Delhi, I had to stand in queue... I used to wait till 10pm in the night to just call back at my home” | Rahul Vatts | | 06:51 | “Compare that to now where voice is completely free. So it was a very expensive thing.” | Rahul Vatts | | 07:39 | “People will not pick up phones because you were paying calls for incoming as well as for outgoing.” | Rahul Vatts | | 08:17 | “Government realized that uptake of services is linked to that particular commercial part. I think then it became like a journey.” | Rahul Vatts | | 14:43 | “Satellite is a very important part of coverage. It complements the current terrestrial coverage and really ensures that the gap which was existing from 96 to 100% is covered.” | Rahul Vatts | | 15:53 | “The government can subsidize and government does have its own universal subsidy programs where government wants the coverage to happen.” | Rahul Vatts | | 18:42 | “Any licensee who takes a license in India is bound by the license conditions, bound by the law of the country.” | Rahul Vatts | | 19:32 | “Each day is a fresh opportunity, fresh challenge and fresh troubles... if you keep it day by day, it really holds good.” | Rahul Vatts | | 20:31 | “See the larger purpose and reflect on it and then how can you contribute to that?” | Rahul Vatts |

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 01:10–03:25 — Rahul’s personal journey and India’s telecom transformation
• 03:41–04:47 — College days, call costs, and digital life now
• 06:35–08:03 — Entering telecom, handset testing, and high costs
• 08:03–09:17 — Policy changes: free incoming calls and mobile adoption
• 10:48–12:45 — India’s competitive market and digital divide
• 12:45–14:43 — Satellite internet pilot in rural North India
• 14:43–16:38 — Satellite internet, partnerships, and subsidized access
• 17:06–19:03 — Internet freedom, regulation, and Airtel’s legal obligations
• 19:10–20:31 — Rahul’s de-stress routine and advice for aspiring leaders

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Conclusion

This episode provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look into the dramatic transformation of telecom in India over the past three decades, as told through the experiences of a key industry leader. Rahul Vatts’ reflections—balancing nostalgia, technological progress, regulatory insight, and rural inclusivity—reveal both the achievements and ongoing challenges facing India’s digital revolution. For listeners interested in technology, policy, or India’s development, the conversation is packed with history, practical challenges, and thoughtful forward-looking perspectives.

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Transcript

[A]

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[D]

Welcome to Business Daily here on the BBC World Service. Namaste. I'm Divina Gupta in India's capital city, Delhi. Now, 2025 marks 30 years since the very first mobile phone call in India. From that single call, the country has grown into one of the world's largest mobile markets. Today, millions use their phones not just to talk, but to stream videos, transfer money and manage almost every part of daily life. So in this edition, we are talking to someone who has been at the heart of this digital revolution, working with one of India's biggest telecom operators and helping millions of people get connected.

[A]

Whatever you watch is coming through me. Whatever you talk can also be enabled through me.

[D]

Rahul Bhatts is the chief Regulatory officer at India's telecom giant, Airtel, and has been shaping policies in this fiercely competitive sector.

[A]

Getting licenses in my younger days for areas which there were no coverage for was a big thing. Now I look back, it was such a momentous moment.

[D]

That's all coming up in this edition of Business Daily from the BBC. Airtel is one of the most recognizable telecom brands in the world, operating in 17 countries across Africa and Asia. The company was founded in 1995 by the Indian industrialist Sunil Bharti Mittal and now connects nearly half a billion users by mobile broadband, Internet and streaming services on their devices. Behind every call and every click is a complex network of licenses, approvals and negotiations. And that's Where Rahul Bhatt comes in. So what does a chief regulatory officer do?

[A]

The chief regulatory officer's role or the regulatory team's role is to really see how do we ensure the profitability of the organizations which we work for. If I can go to a customer's house and say whatever you watch is coming through me, whatever you talk can also be enabled through me, right? Whatever your needs for your knowledge fulfilled by me is something which is really moving.

[D]

Rahul grew up with his family in India's capital city Delhi. But he left home early to study engineering thousands of kilometres away in the western city of Pune. He tells me that back in 1991, something as simple as calling home was a real challenge.

[A]

In my college days if I had to make a phone call to my house back in Delhi, I had to stand in queue to make a phone call. Also the rates used to be cheaper after 7pm and after 10pm more cheaper. So I used to wait till 10pm in the night to just call back at my home. And then also there used to be a huge line because every student want to make a call at that time. From that time to today's time where you just pick up and do anything all you want on your phone is such a transformation. I remember to deposit my rental bills or electricity bill. I used to stand in a queue just to deposit the bill. It used to take me half an hour to just deposit the bill because.

[E]

You have to go to like this office where you have to deposit the money in cash, then he'll put a.

[A]

Receipt and then you will go on and compared to your life now where you do everything digitally on your phone, on your devices. So sometimes I feel that we are living in lucky to see these two phases which are completely different from each other. If I tell my son today that this used to be what used to happen 30 years ago, he wouldn't believe. If I tell him to deposit the bill he'll be most happy to. But if my father was telling me 30 years ago I would be dreading it that I have to stand in a queue for 30 minutes now. So it's a very different world.

[E]

So telecommunication was your first job or no?

[A]

No, I was in a pharmaceutical company first and that pharmaceutical company was basically dealing in a lot of medical electronics related stuff and I became like a sales engineer.

[E]

But your mother wasn't happy with this profession, was she?

[A]

I think she always had this hello about being an engineer and she felt that if you're an engineer you are doing some fancy blue collar job, whereas I was in sales and I was enjoying it, by the way. It meant that I used to work odd hours, I used to go to multiple places. And she was not very convinced of what that engineering was meant to do. And she really felt that I was doing more of a job of a medical representative rather than doing any engineering job. And she pointed it out to me. Somehow that stuck to me in my head.

[D]

Thirty years ago, on 31 July 1995, India entered a new phase, one that would shape Rahul's career. That was the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu, receiving the country's very first mobile call from then communications Minister Sukhram, who was sitting thousands of kilometers away in Delhi. This call opened up India's telecom industry and soon people began buying those bulky brick sized mobile phones. Around the same time, Rahul had just finished his studies and joined a pharma company. But within a year, he switched gears. In 1996, he entered the mobile telephone industry and started testing how well mobile phone services could connect seamlessly across different locations in India.

[A]

So there used to be a big handset of Siemens called S4. It was like a bulky handset. The good thing was that you could make any amount of calls because you had to log in at least 100 calls a day to check the network.

[E]

It used to be quite expensive, right? Making those calls at that time it was very expensive.

[A]

You see, the cost of setting up the equipment was very high. There was no manufacturing happening in India when we started out. I think the call was around 16 rupees 80 paisa per minute. Compare that to now where voice is completely free. So it was a very expensive thing.

[D]

That's roughly 50 cents back then, which was at least eight times more expensive than a regular landline call. That's why many people were hesitant to use mobile phones. I tell Rahul how my father bought one of those big black Nokia handsets and even figured out a way around the high call costs.

[E]

His way of telling us where he is was just to give a missed call. And he said, because if you pick up the phone, it's very expensive, that call. So he would just give a missed call just to tell us, look, I have reached my office or I've reached home and there would be a missed call culture there.

[A]

I know, I know people will not pick up phones because it was because you were paying calls for incoming as well as for outgoing.

[D]

So telecom operators were not only charging people who were making those calls, but were also asking those receiving these calls to pay for it. This was done when a caller dialled into someone on another telecom network.

[A]

Hello, Operators are not getting compensated because suppose I set up an infrastructure I need to be compensated for when you are sending a call to me.

[D]

Rahul began working in policy, joining other industry figures who wanted to remove charges on incoming calls.

[A]

So that realization and making the government realize that this is an important aspect of why we need to be compensated fairly was a large part of the debate. Government realized that uptake of services is linked to that particular commercial part. I think then it became like a journey. And then it just happened around 2002.

[D]

And in 2003, Rahul's efforts, along with others in the industry led to a rare joint policy move. All Indian telecom operators agreed to make incoming calls free across their networks. And that was a total game changer. Suddenly people no longer had to worry about being charged just to answer the phone. Mobile usage shot up and so did demand for handsets. But extending these services beyond the big cities was a challenge. To do that, a telecom operator needed a government license to use more radio frequencies, what's known as spectrum. I asked Rahul back in those days, how long did it actually take to get a license?

[A]

Getting licenses in my younger days for areas which there were no coverage for was a big thing. Now I look back, it was such a momentous moment to get a license. To be able to operate in those areas, it could take anywhere from six months to two years.

[E]

Two years.

[A]

And then the spectrum allocation itself after that could take another two years.

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[D]

I'm Divina Gupta and I'm speaking to Rahul Watts, the chief regulatory officer of Airtel, a major global telecom company based in India. India's telecom space is extremely competitive. In 2016, Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, shook things up when he launched his own network offering ultra cheap mobile Internet.

[A]

So, ladies and gentlemen, today the era of paying for voice calls is ending. Data must be affordable.

[D]

That forced other companies, including Airtel, to slash prices as well. And today, India offers some of the cheapest data rates anywhere. And yet reports claim millions living in rural and remote locations don't have digital access, where it's difficult to lay down cables and build telecom towers. And that's where Rahul and his team have been working, beaming the Internet down from the sky using satellites. I caught a glimpse of how this works.

[E]

As you can make out, I am in a sketch school in a rural part of north India, in a town called Rewari in Haryana. It's about 100 km drive from the capital city, Delhi. And honestly, it feels like a different world out here. No tall glass buildings, no big highways. And life moves at a slower pace. The school itself is pretty basic. Wooden benches, a blackboard and a couple of fans that are running slowly. And like many people places this far out, the Internet is patchy at best. But today the school is part of a big test. A team of engineers is trying to bring high speed Internet here.

[D]

In the middle of the playground, a team is setting up what looks like a simple white table. They're tightening nuts and bolts onto a stand with a square top. The flat surface is tilted towards the sky so it can lock on to a constellation of satellites overhead. That's what brings the Internet to this school. From there, a bunch of cables feed into a small portable router placed right next to it. And within minutes, the entire compound is able to get WI fi. And you can hear the excitement. A group of students seated in front of their computers are clapping as they go online for the first time time, watching educational videos in their classroom. Sakshi Yadav, a grade five student, tells me she watched a story of birds flying together and she liked the way a teacher explained it using animated cartoons.

[E]

In the video.

[D]

Another student, Gagan Kaushik, says he played a general knowledge quiz online. And it's not just e learning. Satellite Internet can also power telemedicine, government services and much more, opening up digital access for such regions in India. And Airtel is betting big here, tying with Utilsat OneWeb, a British French satellite Internet company, and signing a deal with Elon Musk's Starlink, which has been given a licence to operate across India. Both companies are working to get final approvals from the Indian government. Back in Airtel's office, Rahul Watts tells me about this project.

[A]

Satellite is a very important part of coverage. It complements the current terrestrial coverage and really ensures that the gap which was existing from 96 to 100% is covered. And we have got this entire chunk of population covered. There are many villages who cannot afford telephony, for example. So you can set up telephony in villages, in health centers, in schools, and then you can really try to cover large areas of population.

[E]

What about the pricing of it? Because if you look at the international standards of how Starlink provides its service, the device cost is quite high and India is a price sensitive market. How do you see the pricing then?

[A]

I think when you look at satellite, I think the right question to ask is do you want accessibility in areas which are hitherto uncovered? That is a more important question to answer rather than the pricing. For example, how much cost will you attribute to getting coverage into a village which has got no coverage today? If the government wants to set up a primary health centre or give coverage into a school, what is the cost material? It's more important to give connectivity to people who have no coverage.

[E]

But those people can't really pay, right?

[A]

The government can subsidize and government does have its own universal subsidy programs where government wants the coverage to happen. Because digital transformation as we covered earlier, can really impact the growth of the entire unit.

[E]

Is that going to be the growth model then?

[A]

It's going to be one of the growth models for sure. Even if you look at developed economies like us today, they run projects called Rural Development Opportunity Funds. They have got the RDF project exactly for this reason. There are community centers which are set up where the broadband coverage is given. It's the same model being used in Australia also, for example. So those are one big impetus areas. Then of course there are use cases for enterprises going into areas where there is no coverage at all. So if you are setting up a new enterprise, then of course also you can use it as a model to expand coverage.

[E]

The satellite network that you're planning to have at Starlink, would that also have commercial prices for your other consumers and not necessarily the rural consumers, but urban consumers.

[A]

So as far as we see right now, and we'll have to see in the future, once the Starlink setup is ready, I think our own assessment is that we are looking firstly at a lot of use cases which are linked to the requirement of the government and enterprises. And then we'll see how things really shape out.

[D]

What about Internet freedom and censorship? Elon Musk, who owns Starlink, has often argued for independent Internet access for all. But critics of the Indian government say it censors users, shuts down Internet services and restricts social media platforms where there are posts critical of the authorities. The government has consistently denied those charges. So I asked Rahul, how will Airtel work with Starlink to ensure Internet freedom for its users?

[A]

There are two types of shutdowns. If we talk about that. One is a shutdown which happens due to, let us say, an unrest of some nature happening in a particular area and then the Internet is shut down. I think there also the government has now set up very high benchmark as to when that shutdown is going to happen. What is the escalation mechanism for that shutdown to be authorized? Right. So that sort of a freedom getting impacted is something which the government has already addressed largely then there is a question of, you know, certain social media sort of activities happening and people saying that are we responsible for this content which has been put or not? I think that is a subject of debate. There has to be some exercise of self governance mechanism to ensure, and that has been the government stand also that please put in self governance mechanism in place to ensure that no misuse of your platform happens. And if it's not done in that right manner, that is a time where government would like to intervene. So if you see in terms of the mechanism and the framework which the government has created, seems to be quite fair in that sense.

[E]

But could this be a challenge for a company which has promised direct uninterrupted access for the Internet?

[A]

I think any licensee who takes a license in India is bound by the license conditions, bound by the law of the country. Right. Today if anybody takes an Internet license, for example, they are bound by financial conditions, technical conditions, but also security conditions. And if I decide to sign a license, then naturally I am accepting those security conditions conditions.

[D]

Policy battles, regulatory hurdles and fierce competition keep Rahul on his toes. But what keeps him grounded?

[A]

Music.

[E]

Music.

[A]

Okay, music helps me out. Little bit of spending time in the gym in the mornings and if I can go for a nice run on the weekends, helps me out.

[E]

Is there a mantra that you have to help you relax a little bit more? And on those days which haven't been really the kind of days that you want to remember.

[A]

So I usually like to live my life each day, try to keep it simple for myself, each day is a fresh opportunity, fresh challenge and fresh troubles. Or maybe not. But if you keep it day by day, it really holds good. And that's the way I do.

[E]

What are the key characteristics you think somebody should have if they want to be in your shoes? A chief regulatory officer?

[A]

Two or three things will hold out to be curious about learning different things. I come from engineering background, but regulation really involves large amounts of mix of technology and law, for example, and understanding of business, for example. You should be in for trying to connect with people, connect with situations, connect with the external stakeholders, connect with the business to understand the issues really better. What really helps all the time is a very clear focus that whatever you do should have a larger meaning of what you really want to do, right? So see the larger purpose and reflect on it and then how can you contribute to that?

[D]

That was Rahul Watts, Chief regulatory Officer of the global telecom company Airtel, giving us a glimpse into India's fast moving digital world. Thanks for listening to this edition of Business Daily, presented by me, Divina Gupta. To listen to more episodes, just search for Business Business Daily wherever you get your podcasts. Namaste.

[F]

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