Below are some key trends and developments that are expected to emerge in the Indian telecom sector in 2021:
Spectrum auction
This year, the big three telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are expected to join the spectrum after nearly four years. The auction is expected to reach around 55,000 rupees-60,000 crore from the treasury, according to the credit rating agency ICRA.
The government plans to auction 2,251 MHz with a total valuation of Rs 3.92 trillion in March 2021. It will sell spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is also expected to publish the Request for Invitation to Notification (NIA) shortly before the spectrum auction scheduled for Q1CY21.
While Reliance Jio, with a subscriber base of more than 406 million, will be looking to renew a large part of its expiring spectrum, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharti Airtel would strengthen its broadband prowess to meet growing demand for data.
This is also the first time that only three private telcos would bid for spectrum holdings, as stiff competition in the sector has not only led to the consolidation of telcos, but has also forced some companies to get out completely.
Bharti Airtel and Vi, with around 294 million users and 272 million each, have less expensive airwaves, mainly in the 1800 MHz band, which will expire in eight circles each starting in July. They both have backup radio waves in most service areas.
According to a telecom analyst, Reliance Jio will have to shell out up to Rs 30 billion, while Airtel would pay up to Rs 15 billion and Vodafone Idea just a few billion rupees as it has waves of support in service areas.
The winners will also have to pay 3% of AGR, excluding fixed telephony services, since the charges for the use of spectrum for radio waves won through this auction.
5G likely in 2021?
Recently at the India Mobile Congress 2020 (IMC 2020), Reliance Jio President and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said that Jio would take the lead in launching 5G in India in the second half of 21 using internal 5G hardware. He also added that Jio would take the lead as a pioneer in the 5G revolution in India. “The 5G auction should take place early enough after solving all the spectrum challenges. The technology is already proven and there are a lot of phones available on the market. Use cases are also available,” said the Nokia director. India, Sanjay Malik, in an interview with ETTelecom. .
High-speed, low-latency 5G technology features use cases such as AR / VR, AI, high-speed broadband, and more. However, the amount of spectrum and prices have been a problem for telecommunications companies in India.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio have expressed that the “right amount” of quantum spectrum coupled with a solid infrastructure policy is the need for an hour, and not guaranteeing its availability would derail India’s 5G prospects.
Telcos have also said that the current availability of just 175 MHz for all service providers in the 3300-3600 mid-band is “extremely inadequate” and would negatively affect the deployment of 5G in the country.
COAI, representing the three telecommunications companies, has urged the DoT to guarantee at least 400 MHz per telecommunications company in mmwave bands (26, 28, 37 GHz) and at least 2x10MHz per operator in sub-GHz 600MHz and 700MHz bands. .
The launch of 5G has already been considerably delayed in India. But the spectrum auctions coupled with the increased appetite for high-speed mobile networks may be a boon for telecoms companies in India this year.
According to the industry body GSA, there are more than 85 commercial 5G live networks and 300 devices.
Telecommunications companies will prefer Open RAN to traditional architectures
Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) technology, which enables the unbundling of a network’s hardware and software modules, is expected to be the preferred mode of network construction in 2021 and beyond, as telecommunications companies have as aim to reduce Capex related costs and move towards open providers. ecosystem
Airtel, for example, partnered with the US-based Altiostar to implement the latter’s software-centric, cloud-based architecture open vRAN solution to implement 4G and 5G services, applications and use cases. based on vRAN on your network.
Vodafone Idea also revealed that it is testing OpenRAN trials with Mavenir, which also managed to steal the CTO of the telecommunications company, Vishant Vora. Jio’s focus is to develop internal capabilities to build 4G and 5G equipment and solutions in 2020 based on OpenRAN technology.
Wired Broadband Gamers Will Witness Growth
The corona pandemic forced dozens of employees to work from home, prompting increased demand for broadband connectivity for work and entertainment. Consequently, smaller players increased their market share during the lockdown to 43.2% in August 2020 from 40.5% in April 2020, according to Motilal Oswal, even as larger rivals such as Jio and Airtel continued to grow.
Now, Jio and Airtel have 1.7 million and 2.7 million fixed broadband subscribers, respectively, according to October data from Trai. BSNL and MTNL lost 0.07 million subscribers in October and brought their total base to 8.3 million subscribers. On the other hand, ACT had 1.7 million cable broadband subscribers, while other smaller cable broadband players had a total of 7.2 million subscribers in October, according to the data.
The battle between telcos and smaller Internet service providers (ISPs) will gather momentum in 2021. Although telcos enjoy higher numbers of mobile broadband subscribers, they are likely to face stiff competition from local and regional broadband providers.
New identity verification technology without OTP in 1H21
Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Jio are likely to verify user identities using number of subscribers only due to increasing age groups for password fatigue, technical barriers, and to counter SIM duplication fraud.
Subject to regulatory approvals, the feature would be made available to the public in 1H21. It is currently being tested, ET reported.
Launch of BSNL 4G
BSNL’s 4G launch is expected in 2021 and it has finally come out with a detailed notice inviting electronic bidding, for the planning, testing, implementation and annual maintenance of its long awaited 4G network in four operational zones in addition to the Delhi and circles. Mumbai. for 57,000 turnkey sites.
“BSNL intends to submit a tender request for the planning, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and annual maintenance of the 4G mobile network in the north, east, west and south of BSNL, and LSA of MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai, turnkey for 57,000 tentative 4G sites along with associated items, “the telco said in a notice on January 1, 2021.
The state-owned service provider also sought proposals through Expression of Interest (EoI) for pre-registration or proof of concept (PoC) of Indian companies showing interest in participating in the bidding process.
The telecommunications department had last month extended BSNL’s Universal Access Service License (USAL) for 20 years by taking a bank guarantee of Rs 250 million, as well as approving the telecommunications company to manage and offer the services of MTNL in the metropolitan cities of Delhi and Mumbai.
Following the issuance of the license, the telco could provide seamless 2G, 3G and 4G services in all telecommunications circles in the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz and 2500 spectrum bands.
To help the two struggling state telecommunications companies Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) overcome their long salary quotas and meet the daily cash flow requirement, the government had introduced a resurgence. of Rs 69,000 crore four-step process on October 23, 2019. Necessary steps were taken to help telecom operators overcome financial stress.
BSNL had sought radio waves in the 2100 MHz spectrum for operations throughout India except in the Rajasthan circle, while MTNL, which only operates in two meters, had requested the 1800 MHz spectrum in Delhi and 2100 MHz in Mumbai. .
Public WiFi will be widely available
The government recently launched its public WiFi project, called PM Wani, to boost penetration across the country. The simplified scheme will allow unlicensed entities, such as a ration shop, a tea stand, among others, to now provide public WiFi services by obtaining bandwidth from ISPs.
The project will not only increase broadband penetration in India, but will also help telcos to reduce capacity constraint on their networks through offloading, resulting in a better customer experience.
3G off
After shutting down 3G services in Chennai and Bengaluru, Vodafone Idea said it will do the same and shut down its 3G services in Delhi on January 15, 2021. The telecom company’s decision to shut down 3G follows the decision of its biggest rival to reconfigure 3G spectrum for 4G services. last year.
Both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel will continue their respective 2G networks in India due to the installed base of feature phones. Mukesh Ambani, however, had asked the government to implement policies to phase out 2G services and migrate users to 4G networks. Jio plans to bring its new JioPhone and affordable 4G smartphones to accelerate 4G adoption.
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