VODAFONE DRAWS UP PLAN TO TAKE ON BHARTI AIRTEL, RELIANCE JIO Deepali Gupta, Mumbai, January 27, 2014 The

Economic Times

Vodafone India is drawing up strategies to take on Mukesh Ambani headed Reliance Jio Infocomm and current market leader Bharti Airtel, hoping to use spectrum garnered from the upcoming sale to deepen network coverage as well as deploy future technologies. UK-based Vodafone Group Plc's India unit expects intense competition for spectrum in the 900 Mhz band in the important Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles where its licences are ending later this year, Vishant Vora, company's technology director, said. While the more efficient 900MHz bandwidth is particularly suited for indoor coverage - increasing its attractiveness for operators - India's No. 2 operator will also be interested in the 1800 MHz bandwidth which can later be used to offer fourth generation (4G) telecom services. Both Jio and Bharti have bandwidth in the 2300 Mhz to offer 4G services, but Vodafone doesn't. So far, Jio hasn't started its 4G services - which allows downloads almost 10 times faster than 3G, while Bharti Airtel offers it in a few cities.

Hefty earnest money deposits for auctions starting February 3 by Vodafone India, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular indicate that all four could be part of a major slugfest in Delhi and Mumbai circles in the 900 Mhz band, say analysts. Some key circles in 1800 Mhz band could also see keen fights for airwaves. Vodafone holds 900 Mhz airwaves in the lucrative circles of Mumbai and Delhi, apart from Kolkata. Bharti Airtel holds this bandwidth in Delhi and Kolkata. Licences in all three circles are expiring in November this year, making the upcoming auctions critical for both Vodafone and Bharti Airtel to continue uninterrupted services. Meanwhile, Vodafone's interest in airwaves in the 1800 MHz, unsuitable for 3G data, also stems from the fact that there is ample growth in 2G data and voice networks need

decongestion, said Vora. Still, unlike some other operators, Vodafone does not believe its bidding in the auction is contingent to getting continuous spectrum, though it would like for it to be in consecutive frequencies.