Vodafone and Idea Cellular may not be able to offer wireless broadband services using fourth generation (4G) technologies in some circles with Reliance Jio Infocomm rejecting their proposals to swap spectrum.

Vodafone and Idea had requested RJio for an exchange of spectrum won in the recent auctions in a bid to get a contiguous chunk of 5 MHz. This would have allowed them to offer 4G services and compete directly with RJio’s data services.

While non-contiguous spectrum works for voice services, higher technologies such as 4G need the airwaves to be bunched together. Aware of this, RJio rejected Vodafone’s and Idea’s requests to swap spectrum in areas such as Delhi and Kerala, citing technical reasons.

Dispersed spectrum The spectrum sold in February was made available after 122 licences issued to new 2G players in 2008 were cancelled. Though this has freed up more than 400 MHz of spectrum, it is dispersed.

The Government had sold spectrum in blocks of 200 KHz each to allow operators to buy airwaves according to their requirement. Under the auction rules, operators who bid more aggressively were given a higher ranking in selecting blocks. As a result, while the top bidder could amass spectrum in contiguous blocks, others got airwaves in chunks spread across the 1800 MHz band.

At the outset, the Government had said that operators could agree to exchange spectrum if they wanted contiguous access.

The spectrum sold in the February auction is not available in contiguous blocks of 5 MHz, and some winning bids ended up with chunks of it. So, an operator could have got a 2.5 MHz chunk in the lower part of the 1800 MHz band and the balance in the upper part, making it difficult for operators to offer data services.

Competitive market Senior DoT officials said that RJio was not the only operator to reject exchange requests. “It’s a competitive market, so why would a player facilitate a spectrum allocation that suits its rival? There are many instances where an operator has rejected a swap request, especially in areas where data usage is heavy or expected to be heavy,” the official said. RJio, for instance, has agreed to swap spectrum in the North East, an area not considered to be lucrative as far as telecom services are concerned.

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