Videocon Telecom, which sold its spectrum to Bharti Airtel in May this year, is planning a comeback through the mobile virtual network (MVNO) route and offer mobile phone services across the country.
The operator will move the Department of Telecommunications for Unified (UL) Virtual Network operator (VNO) license, which will enable the company to offer telecom services. The firm will sign business agreements with existing network operators to obtain bulk access to network services at wholesale rates, it said in a statement.
At present, the company is offering GSM services in Punjab, while it also provides national long distance (NLD) and international long distance (ILD) services, wherein the operator has a 10 per cent market share.
“We have very carefully evaluated the MVNO model, and we feel it is a perfect platform for us to make a comeback in the telecom space. Our comeback will be much bolder and stronger and will give us the opportunity for a level playing field with others as now we will be able to offer 4G and 3G data,” Videocon Telecom Chief Executive Officer Arvind Bali said.
“We are already in contact with some existing service providers for bulk purchase of Voice, data and SMS, and we are working on the volume-matrices to arrive at the wholesale arrangement. Our first and foremost priority for MVNO rollout will be Punjab telecom circle, where we already have a strong 3 million customers,” he added.
The operator believes that the MVNO model opens up opportunities that can be leveraged upon.
Firstly, the MVNO player does not have to commit huge investments on spectrum and network infrastructure, while it will have an opex business model for them. Secondly, the model allows the MVNO player to offer latest technologies such as 3G, 4G and even 5th Generation technology.
Further, the way the MVNO model operates is that the player has to focus only on sales, distribution, marketing and customer service delivery, while the other aspect of network infrastructure would be managed by the Network Service Operator (NSO) or Telecom service provider (TSP).
Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel signed an agreement with Videocon to acquire the rights to use 1800 MHz spectrum in six circles for Rs 4,428 crore. This followed calling off a similar agreement Idea Cellular, which had agreed to pay Rs 3,300 crore for spectrum in two circles.
The six circles where Bharti got were Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, UP (East), UP (West) and Gujarat (Transaction). The spectrum is valid up to December 18, 2032.
rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in