Airtel 2.0 is a Big Mobile Data Story, Tight Lipped on 1800MHz FDD-LTE Launch
Airtel India’s Data revenue growth continues to be strong though data pricing in India remains amongst lowest in the world. Management highlighted that weakness in data pricing has to be seen in the context of changing customer behavior. More and more subscribers are going for data and the decline inContinue Reading
Airtel, Vodafone, Idea to Expand 3G Footprint via 900MHz Spectrum if Reliance Jio Skips 2015 Spectrum Auction
In our view, operators will look to expand their 3G footprint wherever possible in the forthcoming 900MHz Spectrum Auction. The key factor here would be to check if the operator already holds 3G spectrum in the 2100Mhz band. If so, their incentive to bid for 900Mhz could be lower. TheContinue Reading
China VoIP OTT Set for Big ShakeOut as Tencent Weixin Goes Live
Tencent recently added VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to its standalone Weixin address book app “Weixin Dianhuaben“. This service enables users to make free calls (not including data traffic costs charged by the carrier) when connected to the internet (Wi-Fi or cellular data). The new product claims to support highContinue Reading
China Mobile TD-LTE on Target for Big Leap in Data
China Mobile is bang on Target to operate the World’s Largest TD-LTE network with over 700,000 4G BTS serving Mobile Broadband across China. China Mobile [CM] got a shot in the arm as the regulator delayed FD-LTE licensing and put forth a requirement that all 4G smartphones need to supportContinue Reading
Why Indian Operators require at least 10MHz+ Spectrum ?
Every time spectrum comes for auction in India, uncertainty increases for operators. The spectrum auction earlier this year saw an unexpected contest for 1,800 spectrum as the entry of pure 4G players required incumbent operators to add 4G spectrum selectively. Since then, the most interesting trend has been robust dataContinue Reading
Idea shrugs 4G LTE, embracing 3G Mobile Data Aggressively, Last Leg of 2G CAPEX
Idea Cellular has reported a blended ARPU increase of about Rs12 over the last year (from the Sep-13 quarter to the Sep-14 quarter). We estimate that data contributed about Rs10 to the incremental ARPU, i.e., more than 85%. Data continues to grow at a very strong pace, admittedly from aContinue Reading
TRAI Wants BSNL’s 900MHz Spectrum & 1800Mhz Spectrum from Defence
One of the best recommendations of TRAI ahead of the 2015 Telecom Spectrum Auction is to take back Spectrum to the tune of 1.2MHz in 900MHz band from BSNL on a PAN India Basis which could be used by other operators for 3G services. In return, BSNL should be givenContinue Reading
TRAI Recommends Roadmap for Spectrum, Base Pricing Higher than Last Auction
TRAI has released recommendations/ suggestions for next round of spectrum auctions expected to be conducted in Q1CY15. Key highlight of the recommendation paper is that the authority expects government to make available additional 900MHz and 3G spectrum from government agencies, and have a roadmap for spectrum supply in 700 /Continue Reading
Indian Telcos Want More 3G Spectrum in 2015 Auction, Reliance Jio Opposes A-Vo-Id Lobby
In the TRAI open house discussion on “Spectrum valuation for licenses expiring in 2015 and 2016“, there was a consensus among all telecom stakeholders that the amount of spectrum put for auction is inadequate. TRAI has already indicated that more spectrum should be made available. All telcos made recorded statementsContinue Reading