Business Daily Business Daily meets: Rahul Vatts
Sep 25, 2025
Rahul Vatts, Chief Regulatory Officer at Airtel, has been a key player in India’s telecom revolution for over 30 years. He shares his journey from waiting in long queues to make a simple call to leading initiatives that push technology into rural areas. Discover how India’s first mobile call changed the landscape of digital communication, and learn about the exciting potential of satellite connectivity for bridging rural gaps. Vatts also highlights the importance of regulation in the industry and shares personal insights that keep him grounded.
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From Queues To Instant Phones
- Rahul Vatts recalls queuing for phone calls and waiting until late-night cheaper rates to call home from college.
- He contrasts that era of standing in lines for bills with today's instant digital payments on phones.
Testing Bulky Early Handsets
- Rahul remembers testing early bulky Siemens handsets and logging hundreds of calls daily to check networks.
- He highlights that calls then cost about 16.80 rupees per minute, making mobile use very expensive.
Free Incoming Calls Sparked Growth
- Removing charges for incoming calls in 2003 unlocked mass mobile adoption across India.
- That joint industry policy shifted the market by removing a key barrier to usage and handset demand.