Reliance Jio continues to hold a substantial spectrum advantage over nearest rival Bharti Airtel, even after the latter’s recently announced deal to purchase airwaves from Aircel Cellular. According to the data collected from various sources including company reports, Jio holds spectrum in 62 of the 66 4G slots in the country, while Bharti Airtel holds […]
In a rare gesture, a big telecom company has lauded the government’s recent changes in telecom policy. The Modi government has, in recent months, cleared long-pending reforms such as allowing the trading of spectrum, cutting levies and initiating rearrangement (harmonization) of spectrum. Usually, the relationship between the government and big operators tends to be strained […]
India is getting ready for a digital revolution by auctioning 700 MHz spectrum that has the potential to take high-speed Internet to every village in the country. However, telecom operators — who have to play the role of the enablers — are not popping open the bubbly quite yet. The reason for their misgivings is […]
Bharti Airtel said it is refarming its GSM spectrum to launch 3G services on 900 MHz in six circles including Mumbai, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Assam. Mumbai was the first off the block, where it launched ‘premium 3G’ services a year ago. It is currently in the process of carving out 3G blocks from […]
One of the most keenly fought battles during the Telecom Regulatory Authority’s consultation over upcoming spectrum auction has been won by Reliance Jio. On the losing side are India’s top two operators — Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. The battle was on the question of whether or not Reliance Jio should be allowed to top up […]
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has rejected the request by three of India’s biggest 4G operators — Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular — to not sell any more 4G spectrum, especially in the strategic 700 MHz band. The move is likely to lead to a fast rollout of 4G services in rural […]
Reliance Communications Ltd said it will take a final call on whether or not to convert its CDMA spectrum into 4G spectrum after the Department of Telecom informs it of the final amount required to be paid for the same. “DoT has issued the intimation letter for 16 circles and is yet to decide for […]
Broker Credit Suisse sees all the major telecom companies of India making an attempt to buy fresh 4G spectrum in the upcoming auctions expected to take place in March. Despite making contrary noises, the telcos are likely to buy airwaves as it is a ‘once-in-20-years’ opportunity, the broker said in a note to clients. According […]
For years, India’s telecom operators have taken the government repeatedly to task over ‘hoarding’ spectrum, not releasing it on time etc.. However, with recent auctions giving some of them a competitive advantage, many of these operators are now asking the government to postpone the upcoming 700 MHz auctions – slated to be the biggest India will ever see. As part […]
With spectrum trading rules promulgated, all eyes are on two key players — Aircel Cellular and Tata Teleservices — wondering whether they will sell coveted 3G and 4G spectrum held with them. Operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular are known to be keen to buy spectrum from these operators. Adding fuel to speculation […]
Spectrum trading is likely to lead to consolidation in the Indian telecom industry and four telecom operators — Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Reliance Jio — are likely to emerge the winners — analysts said. “The industry could see emergence of four pan-India players (Bharti Airtel Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Idea Cellular Ltd and […]
The Indian government today implemented perhaps the most awaited reform in the telecom sector in recent years — spectrum trading. Trading will be allowed for all spectrum acquired through auctions or for which ‘market rates’ have been paid. Largely as expected, the norms however have hit MTS — owned by Russia’s Sistema — badly as […]
The telecom regulator’s recommendations on spectrum auction are likely to help Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications – two companies which were facing the highest risk of business disruption from the upcoming auctions. The TRAI has suggested that the auction of 900-1800 MHz spectrum be put on hold till issues around the availability of 3G spectrum […]
The following is the quick summary of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s recommendations on auction of spectrum and licenses expiring next year. The Authority recommends that 1.2 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz band should be taken back from BSNL from all the LSAs where licences expire in 2015-16 except in Punjab. In lieu, […]
The telecom regulator has opened up for discussions two crucial aspects of the upcoming spectrum auctions in the 900 and 1800 MHz band — the minimum bid size and the status of expiring licensees as new or old. While in the last auction, the minimum bid size in the 900 MHz band was kept at […]
A day after TRAI gave its recommendations on the subject, Idea Cellular today said it was unlikely to go in for spectrum sharing in a major way. The telecom operator said practical considerations would make it difficult to go in for spectrum trading even in 3G services, where spectrum sharing is widely expected to take […]
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has, for the third time, recommended to the government to charge a decent amount of price for the 800 MHz spectrum that it is about to sell to CDMA, or other, operators next month. It suggested a 50% increase in reserve prices for the 800 MHz spectrum compared to […]
Vodafone will pay the highest amount to the government as a result of the 2014 2G spectrum auction, followed by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular. Vodafone will pay Rs 196.4 bln ($3.15 bln), followed by Airtel which will pay about Rs 185.5 bln, Reliance Jio Infocomm, which will pay around Rs 11.1 bln […]
Vodafone said it would pay Rs 19,600 crore (Rs 196 bln) for the spectrum that it won in the just concluded auction process. Vodafone has won bandwidth in 11 circles – Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat, UP East, Rajasthan, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. It said it will be paying 56 bln rupees in the […]
The operator and circle wise results of the 2014 spectrum auction in India has thrown up quite a few surprises, including the fact that the 900 MHz spectrum price was driven up by Idea Cellular, and not Reliance Jio as expected. (See the results chart below.) The biggest surprise of the spectrum auction results of […]
