The Biggest Plays by India’s Biggest Telecom Players in 2020-2021

Do you know that India is currently the second-largest telecommunications market globally, with a 1.16 billion user base?

What led to this rapid growth? Well, there are two significant reasons for this growth in Telecom India–

1. The Government’s liberal and reformist policies,
2. High consumer demand

The GOI (Government of India) aided easy market access and developed a more proactive regulatory framework to ensure that residents of remote locations too get access to telecom services at affordable prices.

Furthermore, the deregulation of FDI norms pushes Telecom India to the top of the fastest-growing Indian sector list and is one of India’s top five employment generators.

Such a leveling field has encouraged the different (and big) mobile operators in India to make big moves. We’ll read about these moves after getting to understand the Indian telecom industry first.

Telecom India Market Size

The best and most reliable way to understanding a sector’s performance is to look at the key factors contributing to its success.

In terms of Telecom India, let us have a glance at the below statistics –

• Our country ranks no.2 in total internet users, standing at 757.61 million (Mn) users in Jan’21. (Well, do we also not rank no.2 in terms of our population?)
• The total mobile or wireless userbase increased from 1153.77 Mn in Dece’20 to 1163.41 Mn in Jan’21.
• In the third quarter of the financial year 2021, Telecom India’s gross revenue stood at Rs. 68,228 crore, i.e., (US$ 9.35 billion).
• Prediction for 2021 to 2025: An increase in mobile phone penetration across the length and breadth of India and a reduction in data costs will bring in 500 Mn new internet users, seeding new business opportunities.

The Spectrum Auction of March 2021

India’s big three telcos, namely Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, participated in the spectrum auction in Mar’21, nearly after four (4) long years. A total of 2308.80 MHz spectrum was available for the auction.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) planned to auction 2251 MHz (worth Rs. 3.92 trillion). 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz bands were up for buying – of which 700MHz were left unsold.

Well, the auction ended after two (2) days with the following purchases by the top three telecom providers in India –

• Reliance Jio acquired 488.35 MHz of spectrum for Rs. 57122.65 Cr,
• Bharti Airtel received 355.45 MHz of spectrum for Rs. 18698.75 Cr,
• Vodafone Idea acquired 11.80 MHz for Rs. 1993.40 Cr.

As a result, DoT earned a total of Rs. 77814.80 Cr, i.e., approximately USD 11 billion.

The Likeliness of 5G Services

Considered one of the hottest telecom news in Mar’21, the DoT allotted 5G trial spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26 GHz bands. It paved the way for the big three to collaborate with non-Chinese network vendors and create India-centric use cases on the next-gen high-speed wireless broadband technology.

However, this 5G spectrum auction will likely be postponed this year and may happen in early 2022. This means that 5G services launch in India may occur in late 2021 or early 2023.

Open RAN (Radio Access Network) Architectures

With the 5G spectrum auction around the corner, the big three players of Telecom India are already organizing cost-effective ways for an early (more revenue-generating) deployment of their respective 5G services.

The Open RAN (Radio Access Network) architecture will allow the network providers to reduce CAPEX and OPEX costs and propose innovative digital solutions for their users in less time.

1. Reliance Jio is testing its own 5G Open RAN solutions in various Indian cities. In addition, Jio Platforms have collaborated with Qualcomm and NXP (chipmakers) to make virtualized RAN and small cells to support its 5G network.
2. With its strategic alliance with Tata Group and TCS, Airtel built will build 5G networks based on Open RAN architecture to roll out products and solutions not just for the Indian subcontinent but also for the bigger world. The company is also looking at leveraging Qualcomm’s 5G RAN platforms (which run on the cloud) to roll out virtualized, and Open RAN 5G networks in India.
3. Vodafone Group (at a global level) is attempting to mark its space in the Open RAN world. The company recently announced its strategic alliance with vendors – Dell, NEC, Samsung Electronics, Wind River, Capgemini Engineering, and Keysight Technologies – to jointly deliver the first commercial deployment of Open RAN in Europe.

BSNL’S 4G Launch

BSNL’s 4G services launch was expected to get fully executed in 2021 after a fully detailed inviting of e-tenders, planning, testing, deploying, and annual maintenance. BSL 4G services were meant to be available in four (4) operational zones for 57000 sites on a turnkey basis.

3G Shutdown

While BSNL sets to launch its 4G services in 57000 sites, Vodafone Idea already shut down its 3G services in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi.

However, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel will endure their 2G services in India due to the feature phone installed base.

Reliance Jio’s, on the other hand, requested the government to bring out relevant regulations to support in phasing out 2G services and migrate subscribers to 4G technology. In addition, the telecom giant also is launching its new JioPhone and affordable 4G smartphones to fast-track 4G adoption for its massive userbase.

Conclusion

According to the India Brand Equity Foundation’s recent update on Jul 5, 2021, India is the world’s second-largest telecommunications market with a 1.16 billion subscriber base. Gross revenue of the Indian telecom sector stood at Rs. 68,228 crore (US$ 9.35 billion) in the third quarter of FY21. Clearly, over the coming years, the telecom industry is only going to grow.

We hope the above important telecom updates helped you gauge a decent idea of the intricacies of the Indian Telecom Industry. We will continue to provide you with sophisticated telecom news. Do not forget to visit our website.