New Delhi, July 14 -- Even four years after its launch, 5G monetization remains a challenge because customers have few compelling reasons to pay for it, Bharti Airtel Ltd has said, underscoring why telecom operators have yet to recover their investments in spectrum and network rollouts.

"5G data is currently offered free for all postpaid customers and select prepaid users with unlimited packs at certain price points," India's second-largest telecom operator said in its FY26 annual report released on 11 July.

Airtel bought 5G spectrum worth Rs.43,084 crore in the August 2022 auction, about half of Reliance Jio's Rs.88,078 crore purchase. The company has since spent about Rs.1.45 trillion on capital expenditure in India, including the 5G ...