Airtel takes 4G battle to Reliance Jio’s backyard

Bharti Airtel is all set to take the broadband battle to Reliance Jio’s backyard with the launch of its fourth generation (4G) technology services in Mumbai.

The launch, slated to happen by March, comes ahead of the big-ticket unveiling of services by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, scheduled for later this year. Mumbai is the 16th city in which Airtel is launching 4G services after starting off with Bangalore in May 2012.

4G technology enables users to access wireless broadband services at 30-40 Mbps speeds, compared with 1-2 Mbps on the 3G platform. The higher speeds allow users to access services that include high-definition video streaming, interactive gaming and live television.

The battle for supremacy in the 4G segment is essentially between Airtel and RJio as they own spectrum in most circles.

Companies such as Vodafone and Idea have to rely on 3G bandwidth as they did not win any spectrum for 4G services in the auctions conducted in 2010.

With RJio yet to launch, Airtel is speeding up its rollout to get a head start. The operator had reported 100,000 4G subscribers in January 2014 but has since stopped reporting the numbers with the quarterly results. However, Airtel has reported 95 per cent growth in overall data usage on its network and a 31 per cent increase in data usage per subscriber. The launch in Mumbai will only add to this growth. A company spokesperson declined to comment.

Gurgaon-based Airtel is in discussions with Chinese handset brand Xiaomi to offer 4G-enabled devices.

But the company will have to get regulatory clearances before it can launch. One of the issues that needs to be sorted out is whether Airtel has to pay a one-time migration fee for the Mumbai circle. The Department of Telecom is of the opinion that Airtel has to pay ₹436 crore to merge the four Internet licences it has acquired from Qualcomm, including Mumbai, with its existing unified licences.

Qualcomm had taken an Internet Service Provider’s licence to acquire broadband spectrum in 2010.

But an operator with an internet licence is not allowed to offer voice services. Therefore, under the new unified licence regime, if an operator with an internet licence wants to offer voice services, it will have to pay a one-time migration fee.

However, this could potentially delay the launch by a few months, if Airtel decides to challenge the fee.