1、We all know that the year 2016 will be the year ofLTE in India. Apart from Airtel, who started 4G services back in 2012,wewill see several players to jumping onto the4G services bandwagonin India this year. Idea and Vodafone have already launched their 4G services in selected markets. Jio, the telec
2、om arm of Reliance Industries, will launch its commercial serviceanytime soon.Idea Cellular:Lets start with Idea Cellularbydiscussing its 3G as well as4G spectrum. Idea won 2.1GHz spectrum in 11 circles in 2010, and those airwaves wereused for 3G services. In 2015 auction, Idea grabbed a chunk of 5M
3、Hz spectrum on 2.1GHz band in Kolkata and 900MHz spectrum in Delhi.In Delhi, Idea launched UMTS900 i.e. 3G services over 900MHz band (similar to Airtels Platinum 3G).It should be noted that Idea Cellular has almost pan-India 3G presence via ICRA route throughAirtel and Vodafones 3G networks.Idea 3G
4、MapIdea 3G MapIn pasttwo years, Idea kept defending itself by sayingthat Indias telecom market isnt ready for 4G/LTE services. However, sensing the threat from Reliance Jios entry into 4G turf, Idea started rolling out 4G services in selected circles using its technology-neutral 1.8GHz band.In Novem
5、ber 2015, Idea acquired spectrum in two more circles (Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh-West) from Videocon. Right now, Idea is capable of rolling out LTE-FDD on 1800MHz band in a total of 12 circles.It should be noted that Idea did not win any of 2.3GHz band in the year 2010.Idea 4G LTE liberalised Spectru
6、m detailsIdea 4G LTE liberalised Spectrum detailsIn three circles Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (East), and Mumbai Idea has less than 5MHz of spectrum, which can be used forNarrow-Band LTEdeployment, but NB-LTE doesnt make sense in Mumbai due to large population.From the chart above, its clear tha
7、t Idea has some circles with more than 5 MHz spectrum whichwerewon in 2012. However,there islack oftransparencyifthis spectrum is tech-neutral ornot. So,Idea has stayed away fromrolling out 4G in these circles (Kolkata, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, and Assam).Otherwise, Idea canserve16 circles with
8、 LTE-FDD.World widenarrow-band LTEis getting importance as it can be deployed with just 200MHz chunk of air space. Experts believe thatNB-LTE can be a game changer for IoT (Internet of Things). However, LTE-NB is not suitable enough for general data servicesin India.Idea 4G LTE MapIdea 4G LTE MapVod
9、afone IndiaVodafone India has always been cautious about the amount of money being spent on useless stuff and they invest money in a very planned manner. In 2010, Vodafone invested for 3G spectrum only in 9 circles and opted for Intra-Circle Roaming Agreement (ICRA) to go pan-India throughIdea and A
10、irtels networks.In 2015, Vodafone invested in five morecircles to acquire 3G spectrum. Itdid not receiveany spectrum in 2010onthe2300MHz band. However, they won technology-neutral spectrum overthe1800MHz band, which supports LTE-FDD. With this, Vodafone will be engaged into the war againstReliance J
11、io.Vodafone seems to be seeing 4G as a business case in India, and hence they are in talks with Tikona to buy the latters 20MHz of spectrum in 5 circles over the 2.3GHz band.Vodafone India Liberalised spectrum details*TheTikona-Vodafonemerger is yet to happen as of now.AirtelIndias largest mobile op
12、erator, Bharti Airtel, has a huge spectrum bank across many bands except the 800MHz band.Initially, Airtel had a spectrum on 2300MHz band in 4 circles (Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab, and Maharashtra). Later, they acquired four Qualcomm circles Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana and it recently acquired
13、one circle from Augere in Madhya Pradesh. Airtel is rolling out LTE-TDD in these circles.In 2014 and 2015, Airtel bagged some tech-neutral spectrum on the 1800MHz band, which is being used for both 2G mobility as well as LTE-FDD services. Airtel has now launched LTE-FDD in some circles Andhra Prades
14、h, Tamil Nadu &Chennai, North East, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan.Airtelliberalisedspectrum detailsOn the 3G turf, Airtel has its own 3G/HSPA network in thirteencircles. In 2015, Airtel bagged sixadditionalcircles and introduced Platinum 3G (over 900MHz band) in Mumbaiand Kolkata. In Mumba
15、i, Airtel has dual 3G network.Airtel 3G Map IndiaAirtel 3G MapReliance JioJio, Reliance Industries telecom brand, is robustly shaped with its spectrum bank. The company is yet to launch its commercial services, but it has already invested some thousand crore rupees to make everything right before th
16、e launch.Here areReliance Jios spectrum ownership detailsJio has at least 5MHz in the 1800MHz band in most circles where itplans to roll out LTE-FDD. Ithas plans to roll out LTE-TDD over its 20MHz continuous spectrum in 2300MHz band in all the circles. Jio strategically bagged 800MHz spectrum in sel
17、ected circles like Jio has 5MHz in all the Category C circles where network deployment cost can be reduced.Jios 1800MHz and 800MHz Map:Jios 1800MHz and 800MHz MapAircelAircel, the JV of Indias Apollo Hospitals and Malaysian telecom giant Maxis, had invested a huge sum of capital 3G and BWA auctions
18、that took place in 2010. However, grabbing such a hugespectrum did not make the company profitable.The spectrum price dragged them into the debts. After 2010, Aircel was never took a major participation in the following auctions.Aircel 3G and Aircel 4G MapAircel 3G and Aircel 4G MapAircel grabbed th
19、e 2100MHz spectrum in 13 circles in 2010. In 2015, they did not win any 2100MHz spectrum. Itgrabbed 2300MHz spectrum in 8 circles. In 2014, Aircel bagged a fraction of the spectrum in some circles as a top-up. In the auction that happened in 2015, Aircel won 10MHz 1.8GHz spectrum in the Tamil Nadu c
20、ircle, which is the companys strongest circle.As Aircel has 20MHz 2300MHz spectrum in Tamil Nadu circle, we dont expect that Aircel willuse the 1800MHz spectrum for LTE-FDD rollout in this circle.There have been sometalks in the market that Aircel may be acquired by Reliance Communications.VideoconV
21、ideocon Telecom had acquired 1800MHz spectrum in six circles in 2012. AddingPunjab, they have spectrum in about 7 circles. Since then, they have notparticipated in any of the following auctions. In 2015, they sold their spectrum in Gujarat and UP West to Idea Cellular. In 2016, Videocon may sell its
22、 entire telecom business in a phased manner.Videocon 4G MapThey did not confirm anything about their profitability in the Punjab circle where they have a strong presence inGSM and CDMA. With Videocon Groups strategy, it is sure that Videocon is not going to launch 4G in coming future, anywhere excep
23、t thePunjab circle.Telenor IndiaTelenor has a long and troubled history in the Indian telecom. In 2009, itinvested in Unitechs mobile unit Unitech Wireless, and later commercially launched mobile services under the Uninor brand. In 2012, itlost all its licenses afterSupreme Courts verdict.However, t
24、hey retained license in 6 circles and Unitech left the joint venture. The new entity of Telenors Indian venture was named as Telewings when Indian partner was Lakhsadeep Investments & Finance. In October 2014, Telenor acquired full stakeof Telewings, and Uninor was rebranded as Telenor India.Telenor
25、 India MapIn the 2014 auction, Telenor bagged spectrum in its 7th circle Assam. Telenor is now looking for some consolidations to grow in the Indian market. Tata Teleservices may be merged with Telenor as permarket whispers.Regarding 4Gmobile services, Telenor has expressed to join the bandwagon, bu
26、t the company has limitations as they are now more focused on voice and data. However, Telenor has plan to roll out narrow band LTE on the 1800MHz spectrum when the market demands. Telenors 4G may wait till Tata Tele-Telenor merger happens.Tata DoCoMoTata DoCoMo, the telecom brand of Tata Teleservic
27、es, is under a debt and a pressure to perform. Tata Teleservices has lost its foreign partner NTT DoCoMo last year. Now Tata Teleservices is looking for a new partner.There are strong chances that Telenor India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Norways telecommunications giant Telenor may acquire it w
28、hile Tata Sons will be a minor shareholder in the merged entity.Tata Docomo 3G MapTata Docomo 3G MapPresently, Tata DoCoMo is present in nineteencircles of the country, and offers both GSM and CDMA services. Tata DoCoMo 3G is present in ninecircles only. In earlier auctions, Tata Teleservices merely
29、 participated and bagged afraction of the spectrum as a top-up in fewer circles.Reliance CommunicationsReliance Communications has its 2G GSM presence (900/1800MHz) and CDMA presence (800MHz) across all the 22 circles. However, in the recentauctions, the companydid not spend much to bad thetech-neut
30、ral spectrum. As per DoTs calculation, Reliance Communications can make its 800MHz spectrum liberalised in sixteencircles.Reliance 3G MapReliance 3G MapThe telcois in advanced stages to merge with Sistema Shyams telecom venture MTS India. MTS is currently present in ninecircles with at least 3.75MHz
31、 spectrum on 800MHz band.The companyhas its 3G presence in thirteencircles since 2010. There areno new 3G circles that were added to the companys portfolioin 2015.MTS India:Sistema Shyam Teleservices, which operates under the MTS India brand, is the countrys sole operator which operates only on CDMA
32、 technology. At present, it is present in ninecircles. Except Rajasthan, all other eightcircles have liberalised 800MHz spectrum, which can be used for LTE-FDD deployment. Sistema wants to sell out its business and Reliance Communications seems to clear the roadblocks one by one to get MTS India und
33、er its hood.In this discussion, I intentionally keep BSNL and MTNL away. Firstly, BSNL and MTNL as a whole is present across the country with their 3G services, and their 4G plans are yet to be concrete enough. They hold the 2500MHz spectrum, which will increase their CAPEX to roll out 4G/LTE services and they arealready offering WiMAX services on commercial basis in some circles like Kerala. So BSNL/MTNLs 4G is a long way to come.
