Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, which are seen as major buyers of spectrum in the upcoming auction, will also strengthen their existing portfolios in the 4G bands apart from the 5G bands of 3,300-3,670 MHz and 24.25-28.5 GHz. ,
This is because by increasing the amount of 4G spectrum, it can be customized and also used to provide 5G services. As a result, competition is expected between Jio, Bharti Airtel and even Vodafone Idea in some cases for spectrum in the 800, 900, 1,800 and 2,300 MHz bands, with each attempting to consolidate its position. Will do
Since the spectrum buying scope in the 5G band is the same for all three operators as is enough for all three, overall, Jio will have an advantage due to its better 4G portfolio.
The competitive edge is in favor of Jio as it has a huge opportunity to increase its spectrum bank in the 800 MHz band as the quantum of spectrum in this band has increased from 81.25 MHz to 81.25 MHz for the auction starting July 26 . 136.25 MHz. Analysts expect Jio to acquire 110 MHz, which accounts for 80.7% of the total spectrum on sale in this band, at a total expense of around Rs 18,750 crore.
The territory for Jio here is clear as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will not be the highest bidder as they never had a presence in this band and instead consolidated their position in the 900 MHz band.
Both the 800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands are low frequency bands where diffusion characteristics are high and therefore, with a small number of towers, larger areas and consumers can be serviced.
On their part, Bharti and Vodafone Idea will focus on 900 MHz band, but they will not benefit from Jio in 800 MHz. This is because the total amount of spectrum in this band on sale has come down from 99.2 MHz to 74.4 MHz. Since, Bharti has the advantage of better financial position, it will definitely have an edge over Vodafone Idea here. It is likely that Bharti may spend around Rs 3,615 crore on the reserve price on acquiring airwaves in this band and Vodafone Idea may consider spending around Rs 913 crore.
The 4G band where all three operators can compete would be 1,800 MHz. Here, the quantum of spectrum on sale has marginally increased from 262.8 MHz to 267.2 MHz and the bidding strategy of all three is likely to be similar. Based on the reserve price, Bharti is expected to spend around Rs 9,093 crore, Jio Rs 1,1494 crore and Vodafone Idea around Rs 1,592 crore.