In its earnings call for the fourth quarter, Bharti Infratel said that while its tower construction stopped after the lockdown, it will expand capacity more in existing telecom towers. This is interesting as the company said in its earnings call that it plans on using small cells, a technology usually associated with 5G networks. "The need for connecting from both office and home will become paramount now. People who could live with normal 4G are going to need more capacity and speeds even at home," Bharti Infratel chairman Akhil Gupta said. "We were expecting that to take a big leap with 5G, but 4G has proven to be the country's lifeline, so this phenomenon will now take place with 4G in an enhanced scale." Infratel and COVID-19 Infratel hopes govt will approve tower construction: Even so, the company said that it hopes to get permission to build out more towers in the coming days. Referring to a government decision this week to allow some construction, including fibre laying, to happen in rural areas amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Gupta said he hoped the same permissions would be granted for tower companies. The company will try to get better deals on rent if market conditions allow: For now, Gupta said, the company will not try to renegotiate rent contracts with landlords. "At these times when our dependence on towers is increasing, we'd not like to take in anything that creates discomfort with landlords," he said. "So going forward, we will see what market trends are…
