Battle of 4G Spectrum: Airtel and Reliance

By siliconindia | Wednesday, 13 April 2016, 10:56 Hrs

BENGALURU: Bharti Airtel, an Indian global telecom services company, is on the road to strengthen their 4G spectrum holding in India. The telecom provider offers 4G services across 22 circles and its spectrum share is expected to go up to 21 percent, reports Business Insider. Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani’s telecom company, Reliance Jio has delayed its launch of 4G services but is expected to be active by the end of April. This delay by Reliance Jio has provisioned Airtel with a secure position in providing 4G services throughout India.

The 4G spectrum has created a serious competition between major telecom operators. To ensure greater coverage of this new market, companies are implementing business strategies for easier migration of users to 4G networks. At the same time, the major competitors are focusing on acquiring the spectrum of smaller companies. Bharti Airtel has acquired the 4G spectrum of Chennai based Aircel in eight circles—Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Assam, and North-east, reports The Indian Express. After the acquisition, the company also plans to acquire rights of Videocon Telecom’s 4G spectrum in the near future. Bharti Airtel has also allied with smartphone manufacturers to provide 4G mobile deals to the customers.

The battle of 4G spectrum is yet to start as Reliance Jio has launched its services only for its employees. The commercial launch can be astonishing as it will be providing additional services like Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and might affect the 4G market share of Bharti Airtel.