Archives by Tag 'reliance-4g-lte'
Why Reliance Infotel Must Takeover a GSM Operator and then Launch 4G LTE ?
Building a leading brand in the Indian Telecommunications Market with a very nascent Data Only Business may prove to be an Herculean Task for Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Infotel. The potentially limited scale for data services despite heavy investments would dent the RoI profile of the venture. We already know that returns on 3G investments are already subdued and will take 3-4 more years despite ~20% CAGR in non-voice revenues.
Clearly, Reliance Infotel would aspire to launch a full bouquet of wireless services (data+ voice+ video) and address the needs of consumers as well as small/ medium enterprises. Reliance’s entry into 2G/3G based voice services cannot be ruled out as the prevalent regulations and the ecosystem do not support voice over LTE networks (VoIP) on a large scale.
What are the Potential Options for Reliance Infotel to offer a complete bouquet of Voice and Data Services ?
- Offer voice over LTE (VoIP),
- Bid for 2G spectrum (1800MHz/900MHz) and set-up Greenfield operations, and
- Acquire an existing 2G/3G operator.
Current regulations do not permit Read the rest of this entry »
4G LTE in 1800MHz band – Eco-system Ready and Better than 2300MHz
As demand for data increases, operators are trying new ways to accommodate traffic on existing spectrum instead of going behind higher bands such as 2300MHz and 2600MHz. According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), one third of today’s 96 commercial LTE operators have deployed LTE using the 1800MHz spectrum in their networks.
What are the benefits of Deploying LTE in 1800MHz band ?
- As Data traffic volume doubles every year (or more), LTE 1800 complements LTE 2600 and existing HSPA networks.
- LTE1800 commercial terminals are ready. LTE1800 networks being rolled out, with more to come.
- Up to 50% reduction in site count compared with LTE2600.
- LTE in 1800MHz band is of advantage only if it is deployed with atleast 10MHz Spectrum Block or 20MHz is most desired to reduce the cost / MB of Data
Apple recently announced three versions on the iPhone 5, supporting the LTE frequencies used by AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel in the US, and Read the rest of this entry »
3G uptake increasing; LTE to remain niche; Reliance Skips 4G LTE Conference of Qualcomm
Qualcomm India which is partner with Bharti Airtel for rolling out BWA / LTE Services hosted a conference in Delhi on Oct 16th. Find the key takeaways from the conference.
3G Update Increasing Despite 3G subscribers being less than 3% of the India wireless subscribers base, web traffic on cellular data in India has surpassed traffic on desktops. Qualcomm India CEO expects smartphones sales in India to increase from 11 mn in 2011 to 20mn/25mn/100mn respectively in 2012E/2013E/2015E respectively led by declining smartphone prices.
Huawei Launches World’s first TD-LTE smartphone at the Event Huawei launched TD-LTE smartphone working on 2.3GHz (India band). The phone is powered by 1.5 GHz MSM 8960 dual-core processor and has 4 GB internal memory, 1 GB of RAM. At the estimated (GS est.) price of Rs 30,000 (US$ 545). Expect the product to remain niche and is unlikely to gain any traction for Airtel 4G – the only operator to have launched TD-LTE right now.
Reliance Infotel Broadband Building Own PAN India Fiber Network Reliance Infotel the only Indian operator to have a pan Indian LTE license was conspicuous by its absence for a second year in a row at the Qualcomm India LTE Conference. Vendors and industry participants indicated that Reliance Industries Ltd is looking at 2013 for its launch of LTE in Read the rest of this entry »
How Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Infotel will Bid in 1800 / 800 MHz Spectrum Auction ?
The business case for standalone 4G LTE broadband services using 2300MHz is a little away to be popular on mass adoption. There is a prevailing view that Reliance Infotel or one of Mukesh Ambani’s front end company might bid for the 1800MHz band so as to offer basic 2G Voice service. We see the following challenge in Infotel bidding for the 1800MHz band – Reliance may use the 1800MHz band for building its GSM/EDGE network. Given the current state of the new operators, the breakeven point for Reliance will be atleast 4 to 5 years away.
So what are the Options before Reliance & Mukesh Ambani now ?
Reliance has already invested Rs 12,500 Cr for 20MHz Spectrum in 2.3GHz for 4G Broadband Services. However, mass adoption of this is few years away as the ecosystem is still nascent and evolving. Alternatively, Acquisition of Smaller Telco like Aircel is an Option or Merger with beleaguered Reliance Communications as RCom does not have 4G Spectrum and will be a complementing strategy.
What if Reliance Infotel Wants to Go Solo ?
It is well known fact that Mr. Mukesh Ambani wants to do everything himself as evident from his Forward, backward and Sideways integration in Petrochemicals as well as erstwhile Reliance Infocomm.
Possible, Reliance 1800MHz Spectrum Bidding Strategy
PAN India 1800 MHz Spectrum is really very expensive as it costs Rs 2,800 Cr / MHz and 5 MHz will cost a whopping Rs 14,000 Cr. The following chart shows Spectrum Reserve Prices and Subscribers in each circle, ranked on the basis of Reserve Price. Reliance Bids for 5Mhz in Bottom 16 Circles which represent 62% of Indian Mobile Subscriber Base. Reliance will end up paying Rs 3,770 Cr for 5 MHz spectrum good enough. [New Operators have to bid for minimum of 5MHz] Read the rest of this entry »
