Videocon Telecom to bid for additional 2 Mhz spectrum for Punjab, Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh Telecom Circles
Videocon Telecom, the telecommunication arm of the $4 billion worth Videocon Group, will, in the upcoming spectrum auctions, bid for additional 2 Mhz spectrum each for the Punjab and Madhya Pradesh incl Chhattisgarh Telecom circles.
The reserve price for the planned 2Mhz spectrum in both the circles is approx Rs 194 Cr
Videocon Telecom, which currently holds 4.4 Mhz spectrum in Punjab and 5 Mhz spectrum in Madhya Pradesh including Chhattisgarh telecom circles is eyeing bigger Customer market share and Revenue market share, and this bid will be its move in the direction of accommodating a larger pie of the customer base. The company has been consistently recording highest % growth in Net subscriber addition in all its operational circles and has been among the Top 3 players in Subscriber Net additions consecutively for last 5 months.
The telco already nearing peak capacity utilization in some pockets/cities given fast growing traffic is seeing merit in acquiring additional spectrum instead of deploying more sites, given tradeoff between capex & opex for new sites and the fact that there are many limitations incl local MC permissions & inter-site distance etc. Further considering long term business perspective, the option of acquiring additional spectrum promises to be more effective.
Videocon Telecom, which has a liberalized license in 6 of its 7 license areas, will soon roll out 4G LTE FDD services. The additional spectrum in Punjab telecom circle, being a liberalized one, will also give the operator the option to offer 4G services using the narrowband FDD technology in Punjab as well.
Says Mr. Arvind Bali, CEO of Videocon Telecom, “Telecom is a long term business and any investment in this sector has to be looked at from a long term perspective. We have been contemplating the need for additional spectrum in Punjab and MP/CG telecom circles since there is always a tradeoff between deploying additional sites and acquiring additional spectrum. However, considering our growth plans, business projections and the fact that we want to give the best experience to our customers, we are planning to acquire additional spectrum for Punjab and MP/CG circles”.
He adds, “Further, the Incremental capacity created by the additional 2 Mhz spectrum will be at least 2 times the existing capacity given trunking efficiency. Also, the planned 2 Mhz additional spectrum in Punjab telecom circle being a liberalized one, will give us the option to offer 4G LTE Narrowband service there”.