Reliance Communication To Enter Gsm Services

[h1ghlander 9]

1st let anil bhai buy the required spectrum then we'll think of network

[Arun 795]

Yes, Anil Ambani is back to square one and has to start GSM expansion plans from scratch as Hutch deal went over his head !

I've cleaned up the thread and split them into 2 in order to keep it "on-topic"

Please find the other two topic links below:

The race for Hutch stake !

Vodafone bags Hutch for US$ 19.3 Billion !

[HetalDP 947]

Nice Job Arun.

Reliance now will have Clear target in Mind with All GSM or WCDMA Expansion on Card with Newer and Better Deices.

Lets Hope Better and Start Talking about GSM / WCDMA Spectrum and all.

[Arun 795]

Yup, now they would have to wait for clarity on the spectrum front, and continue further expansion on the GSM front. A generic growth would be much better than inorganic growth... well, sour grapes ain't good

[Arun 795]

I just noticed this article from Economic Times... it says "2 - 4 years" for a pan-India GSM launch !

RCL's GSM call to stay on hold for a little longer

Times News Netowork

Monday, February 12, 2007

But RCL may now have to wait for a while before its well known ambitions of being a GSM player with a pan-India presence are fulfilled. This will require a capex upwards of $7-$8 billion besides a lengthy wait for network rollout and time to reach the market.

Now, RCL will have to wait to get licences for GSM operations. Add to it the wait for spectrum and network rollout and it could be anywhere between two and four years before RCL turns a pan-India GSM player.

[HetalDP 947]

WCDMA Spectrum is now available.

WCDMA works on

1920 to 1980 For Upload

2110 to 2170 For Download

In Indiaso there are 60/5 = 12 Theoritcal Carrier available in which india is considering 5 carrier to be allcated in WCDMA.

CDMA provider have right to get Carrier in WCDMA

So 1.25 for EVDO and 3.75 for WCDMA can be done

Or

5 Mhz in WCDMA. So Reliance have First Option to Choose but 3.75 can not Work in WCDMA so Reliance Must Take WCDMA and Skip EVDO right now.

WCDMA require altogether Different Spctrum than 800/900/1800/1900/

But EVDO can Work in 1.25 Mhz Slot along with older CDMA 1x So 5 1.25 CDMA Slot and one EVDO Slot with Sequential Allocation Works easier.

So Later on Reliance can Replace older 1x RTT with EVDO and can make slower and Safer move to EVDO after Getting WCDMA in 2.1 Ghz.

I have Strong Opinon that in First Phase Reliance will go for WCDMA rather than EVDO so even if GSM Spectrum is not alloted to Reliance. WCDMA can very well handle it Cross Technology Expansion Plan. Major 30 to 40 % New Shipment of Phone in GSM is WCDMA Compatible.

[linuxguy 0]

Anil bhai has lost Hutch! I wonder what would've been if Mukesh would've been heading infocomm? Oh well! A BIG monopoly was averted!

[vmsanghrajka 0]

Anil gears up for challenge

Mumbai, Feb. 12: Anil Ambani may be gracious in defeat, but he is steeled in his resolve to up the ante as he hunkers down for the bruising battle that lies ahead.

On Monday, Ambani said his group would make a capital expenditure of Rs 11,000 crore (or $2.5 billion) in the next financial year to ramp up operations.

Ambani is clearly gearing up for the challenge and the threat that Vodafone presents. Most of the telecom companies, including Reliance Communications, have been spending Rs 5,000 crore or so as capital expenditure every year in their operations.

So, Reliance Communications’ plan to double that figure signals that Ambani means business.

Ambani has been mulling the option of expanding this GSM network — which is currently concentrated in the east and Northeast — to other parts of the country.

There was no indication whether the new capex plan signalled an aggressive foray into the segment next year.

In his statement, Ambani said, “We congratulate Vodafone and welcome them to India. Vodafone’s participation is a further endorsement of the exciting future growth potential, and the progressive policies, prevailing in the Indian telecom sector.

Speaking about the Reliance bid, he said, “Reliance’s bid was made in line with our publicly declared and consistent philosophy of sustainable value creation, and financial conservatism, in the face of truly challenging acquisition valuations.”

[jusmail 0]

RComm to invest $2.5 bn

Feb 13, 2007

Having lost the battle for Hutchison Essar, Anil Ambani-controlled

Reliance Communications

is drawing up plans to invest up to $2.5 billion (Rs 112.5 billion) in its Code Division

Multiple Access as well as Global System for Mobile Communication networks.

Ambani had recently outlined this plan at an earnings call for global investors,

just days before Vodafone bagged Hutchison Essar on February 11. Reliance Communications

was counting on this acquisition to expand its GSM footprint in the country, as it

shells out a royalty on its CDMA operations to Qualcomm.

Analysts expect Reliance Communications to roll out a pan-India GSM network, as it

has said it intends to do, for between Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 billion) and Rs 11,000

crore (Rs 110 billion).

The investment would compare favourably with the estimated $4 billion that has been

invested by Bharti Airtel and Hutch in their entire wireless business till date.

Reliance Communications, analysts said, could also look at acquiring a domestic GSM

operator.

Ambani has already outlined its plan to roll out 20,000 towers, locating CDMA as

well GSM antenna on the same tower.

The company is also looking at additional tower capacity through co-location agreements

with all major operators.

The goal is to have signal available in any city with a population of 50,000 and

more, taking the total number of towns covered from 2,200 now to nearly 4,000 by June.

[jusmail 0]

Hutch gone, Anil dusts up GSM plan

Feb 18, 2007

Evaluation of bids for 75m 2G and 25m 3G lines will begin soon

NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications (RCom) has put the process for expanding its GSM

(global systems for mobile communications) services back on the frontburner. The

company had halted the process some time back, waiting for the outcome of the Hutchison

Essar stake bidding war.

Telecom equipment vendors, including Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei and ZTE, are

believed to have already responded to the Reliance GSM tender for a total of 75 million

2G lines and 25 million 3G lines. The value of the tender is estimated in the range

of $6 billion to $7 billion.

Chinese vendor ZTE is already in an agreement with Vodafone to supply ‘budget’ handsets

across Vodafone markets, including in India. “RCom is about to start evaluation of

the offers for its GSM tender,” an industry source said. Technical aspects of the

bids will be evaluated first.

But an industry analyst said RCom may not be able to proceed with the GSM expansion

process unless there’s adequate spectrum allocation.

Indications that a group of ministers (GoM) set up to look into vacation of defence

spectrum for use in telecom may have a meeting soon to deliberate on the matter.

The GoM is headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was earlier

the defence minister.

Currently, Reliance Communications has over 27 million CDMA users across all the

23 circles in India, while group firm Reliance Telecom has 3.8 million GSM subscribers.

Market leader Bharti has 33.7 million mobile subscribers and Hutchison Essar 24.35

million.

Vodafone, which has bought control in Hutchison Essar, said it is targeting a 20-25%

market share, or 125 million users, in the next four to five years.

The total GSM base in the country is currently 110.5 million, and CDMA 45.8 million

(including fixed wireless).

While the total telecom base (fixed and mobile) in the country was over 196 million

as of January 31, 2007, it’s expected to cross 200 million by the end of this month.

[HetalDP 947]

I have also said the Same Thing. That Reliance should loose the Bid. and should Start GSM or WCDMA Rollout a Fresh Move. We the customer will definately Benefit from this move.

[copperco2 24]

but as per the estimation of 2-4 years for the pan india roll out, i guess it should take much less than that.

It alreadt has presence in some circles , and has signed up operators to share their infrastructure of cell sites.. if this is the approach then 2 years is a prety long time.

the plans will be happening sooner

A competitor like vodafone which has tied up with ZTE to provide handsets costing Rs.850/- every minute is a cost incurred.

The competitor is even taking up the gauntlet thrown by RIM by providing the cheap handset... and gobbling up the numbers.

[copperco2 24]

the hutch.. whampoa- vodafone- essar saga it seems is continuing. does anyone have a clear picture of whether vodafone has placed the winning bid or is it the best bid but is subject to be bettered by essar i.e. the negotiations can still go on?

if essar has not exercised its FRR, can it do so now?

does essar really have FRR?

will vodafone be a winner and still manage to get sidelined in the sparring of essar and its soon to be former partner-(its subject to regulatary acceptance..right!)

[HetalDP 947]

Thanx Reliance Dont Fell into this Chakkkar

Or else Anil will Forget the Customer and would running after Hutch and Essar Brothers

[copperco2 24]

ADA.. i am sure is aware of this, if a spat breaks out and the valuations come crumbling down..then he will be the first to try and pocket hutch..

he will be the undisputed king of indian mobile market..

btw somebody had made comparison between ADA and MDA, w.r. to this bid. well the comparison is not possible because the financial acuman of ADA is beyond doubt and MDA never went beyond that..

let's see how things turn out...

[HetalDP 947]

3G for CDMA users could get delayed Thomas K Thomas

Govt yet to allocate spectrum for trials

Trials in the 1900 Mhz band is important to know whether or not 3G services by CDMA operators would interfere with the services to be offered by GSM players.

New Delhi March 4 Third generation services for CDMA-based subscribers could be delayed, with the Government yet to allocate spectrum to operators for conducting trials. Despite two reminders from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to the Department of Telecom (DoT), the Wireless Planning and Co-ordination wing is yet to allocate radio frequency in 1900 Mhz band for conducting trials for CDMA-based 3G services.

This comes even as the DoT has allocated spectrum for trials to seven GSM-based operators, including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Hutch, which gives them a headstart.

CDMA players, including Tata Teleservices, are still awaiting clearance to conduct trials. "While DoT has in principle agreed to give spectrum to CDMA operators to conduct trials in 1900 Mhz, operators have been waiting for almost two months now. We are ready to conduct the trials as soon as we get the spectrum," said a CDMA industry representative.

Trials in the 1900 Mhz band is important to know whether or not 3G services by CDMA operators would interfere with the services to be offered by GSM players.

While GSM operators said that allocating spectrum in the 1900 Mhz would create interference, CDMA operators said that they could prove it practically that interference does not occur.

CDMA operators said that there were technical means to cut down the interference, if any.Sources in the DoT said that the Government was aware of the importance of the trials in the 1900 Mhz band and the attempt was to accommodate both technologies.

They said that the spectrum for trials would be given to CDMA operators soon. "We are working on it and though we cannot give a timeline, radio frequency for CDMA operators will be given," said a senior DoT official.

Edited March 5, 2007 by hpnasik

[Arun 795]

Spectrum policy will address crossovers

DNAindia.com

Tuesday, March 06, 2007 22:20 IST

The spectrum policy being finalised by the department of telecommunications (DoT) will specifically address the issue of “crossover spectrum allocation,” it is learnt.

Crossover refers to a scenario where a CDMA (code division multiple access) telecom player may want to switch over or expand into GSM (global system for mobile communications) platform. Only Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom), a CDMA major, is keen on a switchover to the GSM platform.

Although RCom has already floated a mega tender for GSM, there’s no clarity yet on how the government would allocate spectrum for the company’s GSM services. Since the company has a pan-India CDMA presence, the modality and quantum of spectrum allocation for its GSM operations need to be sorted out, according to a source.

Reliance Telecom, also owned by Anil Ambani, has 3.8 million GSM subscribers across eight circles. But, now RCom wants to have a pan-India GSM presence. The company has reiterated time and again that it wants to continue with its CDMA service while expanding its GSM base. RCom has over 27 million CDMA users across the country. GSM market leader Bharti has 33.7 million mobile subscribers, and Hutch Essar has 24.35 million. The spectrum policy, expected to be notified sometime in April, will also address issues like allocation for 3G spectrum, wireless broadband connectivity, and additional spectrum for 2G operators. Besides DoT officials, experts from the IITs and IISc are involved in finalising the policy.

The group of ministers headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, slated to look into the vacation of spectrum by the defence forces, is yet to meet. Official sources, though, say the defence forces will vacate 45 mega hertz of spectrum for use in telecom (both 2G and 3G) in the next four months.

As for Reliance’s GSM tender, telecom equipment vendors including Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, Huawei and ZTE are believed to have already responded. The tender is for a total of 75 million 2G lines and 25 million 3G lines and is estimated at over $6 billion.

The total GSM subscriber base in the country is at 110.5 million, while CDMA has 45.8 million (including fixed wireless). The total telecom base (fixed and mobile) is expected to cross 200 million by the end of this month from 196 million as of January 31.

[vmsanghrajka 0]

ADAG planning big rollouts

Monday, March 19, 2007 (New Delhi):

Anil Ambani lost the race for Hutch but he is still in the running for a mega GSM expansion. Reliance Communications has been planning to go big on GSM for several months now but spectrum delays had held it back.

However, now the GSM spectrum is likely to be available by July this year and the company is in advanced talks with Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola for a big GSM tender for 75 million 2G lines and 25 million 3G lines.

The value of the tender is estimated to be about $6.5 to $7 billion.

Reliance Communications sources say that if everything goes according to schedule, the company should be able to become a pan India GSM player by 2009.

That would make it the only Indian company to have a significant presence in both the mobile platforms. That's one reason why the company is such a hot favourite among big market players.

In fact, the markets like most of Anil Ambani's companies including the one that operates neck deep in the Indian markets, Reliance Capital.

The latest positive vote has come from Merrill Lynch, which has come out with a very bullish report on the company.

[Arun 795]

Reliance Communications may get additional spectrum, but only for CDMA

Financial Express - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 0028 hours IST

A committee of the department of telecommunications (DoT) has recommended that extra spectrum be allowed only for the technology mobile operators have chosen to use initially. This could deal a big blow to Reliance Communications’ plans of shifting from the CDMA to the GSM technology.

Reliance Communications, India’s second largest mobile operator, is originally a CDMA operator, but has applied for GSM spectrum across the country.

The DoT proposal will prevent mobile operators with unified access service licence (UASL) from getting extra spectrum for technologies other than what they had opted for originally. Though the UASL itself is technology-neutral, if a service provider chooses CDMA technology to start with, it would be entitled to extra spectrum only in CDMA.

RComm had sought GSM spectrum in its application to the wireless planning and coordination cell of the DoT last year. The DoT, however, wants to take a policy decision on the issue and has hence kept the RComm application in abeyance. “We want to see if Reliance is a one-off case or others, too, want to do the same,” a DoT official told FE.

If the recommendations of the committee were accepted, RComm would get extra spectrum for CDMA services in circles where it was entitled to the spectrum. Since it provides GSM services in eight circles, it will get extra spectrum in these. The company may, however, not get pan-India GSM or CDMA spectrum.

[raccoon 53]

Very bad! Why should companies be forced to be stuck with any particular technology? Consumers can change their handset and change technologies ....why not companies???

[vmsanghrajka 0]

Spice Telecom + Idea Cellular + Reliance Telecom 2 create sparks!!

NEW DELHI: Spice Telecom, Idea Cellular and Reliance Telecom (the GSM arm of Reliance Communications) are in talks for forging an “operational alliance with a pan-India footprint”, according to MCorp global chairman B K Modi.

“Discussions are on for an operational alliance with regard to network sharing, roaming, international arrangements and handset bundling,” Mr Modi told ET. “The talks are not related to any merger, but relate to a tie-up for operational requirements,” he added. Mr Modi, however, did not disclose the specifics of the proposed alliance.

When contacted, Idea Cellular managing director Sanjeev Aga told ET that he was not aware of any such development. Reliance Telecom refused to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, in a related development, Spice Telecom on Wednesday got the Sebi nod for its upcoming initial public offer. Telecom Malaysia currently has a 49% stake in Spice, but this will fall to 39.2% after the mobile operator’s IPO.

According to the latest figures from the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM operators, as of April-end, Spice had 2.8 million subscribers, while Idea Cellular had just under 15 million and Reliance Telecom under 5 million.

Analysts, however, share the view that the operational alliance was a logical move as all three companies did not have an pan-India presence. Idea currently has operations in 11 circles—Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (east) and Rajasthan— Spice has operations in Punjab and Karnataka, while Reliance Telecom has GSM operations in eight telecom circles in the eastern part of the country.

Reliance Telecom has GSM operations in Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam and the North East.

This implies, if the operational tie-up were to take place, the three companies will have a presence in 19 of the 23 telecom circles in India. The four circles where none of these companies have a presence include Mumbai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Spice_...how/2070474.cms