Airtel Might Add Additional Spectrum In 8 More Circles

The competition between Reliance Jio and Airtel is going to get fierce again as both have started adding additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. The telecom operators added extra spectrum in Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. However, Airtel is planning to add more circles to the same list soon.

The company is likely to add extra spectrum in Gujarat, Punjab, and other key markets in the coming months. Notably, Airtel has added extra airwaves in three circles on Monday in the 1800 MHz band and soon plans to add airwaves in the 900 MHz band.

"With the fight for mobile broadband users hotting up between Airtel and Jio via fresh spectrum deployments, tariff hikes could be delayed by at least another three months, and any revenue growth till then would come from user adds and a mix improvement via a larger share of 4G users," an analyst at a global brokerage was quoted by ET.

The report said that Airtel is likely to add airwaves in Gujarat, Kerala, Bihar, Odisha, UP-East, and Jharkhand. The company wants to increase data capacity in these circles. Besides, the telecom operator is expected to add extra spectrum in 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz to improve 4G coverage and 5G-readiness in the country.

Additionally, the company is likely to deploy to use 800 MHz spectrum in Madhya Pradesh. Notably, Airtel purchased 355.45 units in the auction. The company has spent Rs. 18,699 crores on buying the airwaves.

"Airtel is likely to go flat out to maximize 4G user gains in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where it has the largest spectrum bank among operators," said another executive.

Telcos Want To Boost 4G Network

Interestingly, the main reason behind expanding the spectrum presence is to boost broadband coverage in the circles as customers are operating from home. In addition, both operators are deploying the newly purchased spectrum to attract data subscribers from the Vodafone-Idea.

We also believe that telecom operators adding additional spectrum capacities as demand has been increased during the lockdown and telecom operators do not want to lose the customers. Also, Reliance Jio and Airtel want to maintain data services and wants to ready for the 5G network.