Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel with 6 others to join the spectrum race
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Docomo, Uninor, Idea Cellular, Aircel and Reliance Communications have submitted applications to participate in the upcoming spectrum auction in March. Sistema Shyam TeleServices (MTS India), BSNL, MTNL and Videocon Telecom are however not participating in the spectrum auction.
Industry watchers are currently looking for the participation of Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire promoter of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which could not launch 4G services after buying BWA spectrum in 2010. The presence of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which has pan-India spectrum to launch 4G services on TD-LTE and spectrum in key cities for using FD-LTE, is anticipated to escalate the spectrum price.
In December 2015, seven licenses each of Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications, four licenses of Bharti Airtel and six licenses of Vodafone will complete their 20-year term after which they have to be renewed.
The government plans to sell the second-generation or 2G and third-generation 3G radiowaves in an auction scheduled to start from March 4. See more at: http://www.varindia.com/reliance-jio-bharti-airtel-with-6-others-to-join-the-spectrum-race/
