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    Vodafone India may opt for 2300 Mhz for 4G pool, 700 Mhz overpriced: Naveen Chopra, COO

    Synopsis

    India’s No. 2 telco is trying to be “battle ready” to counter the competitive threat posed by new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm, besides rivals Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular.

    ET Bureau
    NEW DELHI: Vodafone India may look at the 2300 Mhz band to expand its 4G spectrum pool, in what could mark a significant change in its strategy. India’s No. 2 telco is trying to be “battle ready” to counter the competitive threat posed by new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm, besides rivals Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular.

    Speaking to ET, Vodafone Chief Operating Officer Naveen Chopra also echoed the sentiments of rival operators like Airtel while terming the sector regulator’s 700 Mhz base price recommendations as overpriced, but didn’t say the telco won’t bid at these prices.

    Speaking on Vodafone’s interest in the 2300 Mhz band, Chopra said: “All of these (choosing spectrum bands) are interplay between how systems develop…in terms of the ecosystem. What was of no interest to people maybe 3-5 years ago, is of deep interest to them today”.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended selling 320 Mhz of spectrum in the 2300 Mhz band, for the first time since they were initially auctioned in 2010.Back then, Vodafone didn’t opt for the airwaves, the thought being the lack of 4G ecosystem around that band and technical challenges regarding in-building coverage.

    Five years down the line, the 4G ecosystem, including handsets, has since developed on the band with the growing adoption of China Mobile and the impending commercial roll out of Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    “Our point is let’s have lots of spectrum available, it’s our raw material,” Chopra said.

    Chopra’s comments came on the sidelines of Vodafone’s 4G launch on the 1800 Mhz band in NCR, starting with Gurgaon. The roll-out will be completed across all parts of Delhi & NCR in a phased manner.

    The launch in Delhi and NCR follows the launch of Vodafone’s 4G services in Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata. Chopra said that for now, Vodafone will focus on launching 4G in the five service areas it has 4G spectrum in.

    These circles “represent more than 50% of our data revenues.” On Jio’s launch and its competitive impact, Chopra said: “We spend a lot of time developing a lot of scenarios understanding what could be happening in the future, and to be as battle ready as possible.” He however questioned the reasoning behind Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s suggested starting price for 700 Mhz of.`11,485 crore for a unit, which translates to a whopping .`57,425 crore (or $8.5 billion approx) for a pan-India 5 MHz block.

    “Any additional spectrum that is available to operators is good. But then the question is at what price. At a broad level, we genuinely believe it’s (700 Mhz) overpriced. The rationale for it is unclear to me personally,” Chopra said.

    He added that the ecosystem around the 700 Mhz band is nowhere near robust.

    “Its efficiency factors, in-building propagation is not different from 800 Mhz. So, why would it be at this price?” Chopra asked.

    Bharti Airtel, India's No 1 telecom carrier, has already recently decried the starting price of 4G airwaves in the coveted 700 Mhz band, calling it way "too expensive and unaffordable" for the telco.


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