Category: Telecom

India’s telecom regulator moots passive infrastructure sharing among service licensees

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday recommended that telecom service licensees be allowed to share passive infrastructure, including buildings, towers, electrical equipment and dark fibre, owned and operated by them with all types of telecommunication service licensees.

The sector regulator further mooted that telecommunication service licensees should also be allowed to share all kinds of active infrastructure elements owned and operated by them with other telecommunication service licensees as per the scope of their services.

The recommendations were part of the regulator’s views on ‘Telecommunication Infrastructure Sharing, Spectrum Sharing, and Spectrum Leasing’ released on Wednesday.

TRAI said the implementation of the recommendations will help telecom service providers with greater cost efficiencies and improved time to market. It would also enable telecom service providers to offer better quality of service and wider coverage. At present, only spectrum trading and intra-band spectrum sharing are permitted in the country.

For a more efficient utilisation of the scarce spectrum, the regulator has recommended that spectrum leasing and inter-band spectrum sharing should also be permitted.

“Telecommunication service licensees should be allowed to share the passive infrastructure such as building, tower, electrical equipment including battery and power plant, dark fibre, duct space, Right of Way, etc. owned, established, and operated by them under the respective licenses with all types of telecommunication service licensees,” TRAI said.

In future, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) projects, the Department of Telecom (DoT) should include a provision in the agreement that would require the universal service provider not to refuse the sharing of passive infrastructure laid under the project with at least two other telecom service providers on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis, according to suggestions. Even in the assigned projects of USOF, the DoT should explore the feasibility of issuing instructions to USPs not to refuse to share infrastructure laid under the project with at least two other telecom service providers.

According to the regulator, the recommendations on mandatory sharing of passive infrastructure laid under the Universal Service Obligation Fund projects are aimed at extending the benefits of telecom coverage in underserved areas to more than one telco through effective utilisation of the government-funded infrastructure.

“In the interest of consumers, a telecom service provider, which has built mobile network infrastructure in the remote and far-flung areas of the country with full or partial funding from the government under USOF (or Digital Bharat Nidhi), should be mandated to allow roaming to other TSPs (telecom service provider) on its network in such remote and far-flung areas initially for a period of three years,” TRAI said in a release.

Inter-band access spectrum sharing between access service providers in an LSA (licenced service area) should be permitted. “(The) DoT should explore the possibility of implementing authorised shared access (ASA) technique-based spectrum sharing in India, under which the spectrum assigned to government agencies or other entities (non-TSPs) in the globally harmonised spectrum bands for IMT services can be assigned to access service providers as secondary users,” it said. The regulator has also recommended that leasing of access spectrum should be permitted among access service providers.

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Experts discuss latest developments in telecom and what lies ahead

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The recent developments at Vodafone Idea, marked by a successful ₹18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) and the Aditya Birla Group’s strategic ₹2,075 crore equity infusion, have ignited a wave of optimism in the telecom sector.

In a discussion with CNBC-TV18, Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Airtel, and telecom expert Prashant Single, and Purushothaman KG, Partner and Head of Digital Solutions and Telecommunications Industry Leader at KPMG India shared their views about the future of Vodafone Idea, tariffs, and the overall competitive landscape of the industry.

Kapoor calls the current situation in the space ‘enigmatic’.

“So as far as the market is concerned and the consumer is concerned, it is the right thing to have happened because three private players in a market like us gives a lot of choice to the consumers. And therefore, brings that balance on customer service and experience over a longer period,” he said.

However, he noted that despite the fresh funds, the overhang of ‘too little too late’ will still be affect Vodafone Idea till it delivers and is back into the game.

Also Read | Vodafone Idea FPO opens today: CEO explains how the funds will be used

Vodafone India plans to use 70% of the funds raised to strengthen its network infrastructure and broaden its market reach.

Prashant Singhal, a telecom expert believes there is more than enough space in the telecom market for a third player to play catch up.

“The response on the Vodafone Idea FPO clearly shows that there is a lot of interest and there is a lot of confidence in the company,” Singhal said.

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Kapoor thinks the Indian telecom market needs higher pricing.

“We are on the lowest end of the spectrum on pricing when you compare it across the globe,” he said.

According to Purushothaman, the sector is doing well because it is the foundation of the digital economy.

“From a sector perspective, you might have seen quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth, improvement in the sector not only from a tariff perspective but also steady subscription growth. The tariffs have improved and that has helped to improve the average revenue per user (ARPU) for most of the operators,” he said.

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Reliance Jio leapfrogs China Mobile to become global data traffic leader

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Telecom giant Reliance Jio has reportedly become the world’s largest mobile operator in terms of data traffic, surpassing even China Mobile. The announcement came on Monday after Jio disclosed its results for the March quarter.

As of March 2024, Jio has a subscriber base of 481.8 million, with 108 million subscribers actively utilising Jio’s True5G Standalone network.

According to a press release, the total data traffic traversing the Jio network has surged to a staggering 40.9 Exabytes, marking a 35.2% year-on-year surge. This growth is largely attributed to the widespread adoption of 5G technology and Home services.

Notably, 28% of the traffic comes from 5G subscribers. Additionally, Jio’s Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services have made substantial contributions to this surge in data traffic.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is said to have triggered a 2.4x increase in annual data traffic, with per capita monthly data usage skyrocketing from a modest 13.3 GB to 28.7 GB over just three years.

Financially, Reliance Jio achieved several significant milestones, with consolidated Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) surpassing ₹1,78,677 crore and consolidated Profit Before Tax (PBT) exceeding ₹1,00,000 crore. Furthermore, the company’s market capitalisation has surged past ₹20,00,000 crore.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Vodafone Idea shares surge over 14% after strong FPO subscription; Here’s what it means

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd. snapped a two-day losing streak on Tuesday to surge over 14% in trade after its ₹18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) saw strong subscription over a three-day period.

India’s largest FPO saw overall subscription of 6.99x when it closed for subscription on Monday evening. Retail portion of the FPO also ended up with a full subscription figure of 1.01x.

Institutional bidders or QIB portion of the FPO was subscribed 19.3x, while non-institutional portion saw a 4.54x subscription.

A successful FPO now paves the way for a bank fund raise worth ₹25,000 crore for Vodafone Idea. This also provides some much needed growth capital for 4G and 5G investments to the company, thereby improving its competitiveness.

Investments can also help Vodafone Idea in reversing years of subscriber share loss.

In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Vodafone Idea’s CEO Akshaya Moondra said that the amount raised will be split between the company’s 5G rollout and 4G expansion. ₹5,720 crore out of the total fund raise will be used in the 5G rollout. He further added that the total money raised will be enough to fund capex plans for the next three years.

On the charts, the stock has taken multiple supports at its 200-Day Moving Average at ₹12.3, which is also from where the stock reversed during its recent correction. On the upside, the stock now has its 50-Day Moving Average at ₹14.05 and its 100-Day Moving Average at ₹14.28. Relative Strength Index or RSI on the charts is also at 53.

Out of the 16 analysts that have coverage on Vodafone Idea, 75% or 12 of them have a “sell” or equivalent rating. Only IIFL has a “add” rating on the stock with a bull case target scenario of ₹19.

Shares of Vodafone Idea are trading 11.6% higher on Tuesday at ₹14.40. The stock is down 15% so far in 2024 after the stock had doubled in the calendar year gone by.

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Vodafone Idea CEO outlines subscriber retention strategies and more | Q&A

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, discussed in detail the company’s future plans with CNBC-TV18, including upcoming capital raising, capacity expansion, industry tariff hikes, average revenue per user targets, 5G rollout, among other things.

The telecom service provider has launched an ₹18,000 crore FPO and the anchor book boasts of some names such as Fidelity, GQG, UBS.

The FPO has also received support from the government, which is the largest shareholder in the telecom operator.

Below are the edited excerpts from the interview: 

Q: You have got some marquee investors on board, foreign and domestic investors. The question is what next now?

A: We are going to use this basically for growth capex. This is not the only funding we are doing. This is a part of the funding of ₹18,000. You’re aware ₹2,075 crore will come from promoters. And we are also in discussion with the lenders. And the way the funding is being raised is to have a total availability for growth capex which can meet our requirements for 4G coverage, expansion, 4G capacity growth and the 5G rollout. And when we do this, we are confident that we will be able to arrest the loss of subscribers and start participating in the growth of the industry which we have missed out for the last few years.

Q: So how soon before you will be able to close the bank funding of ₹25,000 crore?

A: We have been engaged with our lenders for quite some time. One of the asks was that the equity funding should happen first. And actually that task was for a lesser amount. So now that the funding is there, and should happen in the next few days, we will engage with the banks.

Q: So is three to six months a realistic assumption?

A: I am not at liberty to say, but we will do it as quickly as possible. And let’s say we have sufficient funding, and the bank funding should be available in time in my sense, so that our capex (capacity expansion) plans remain on track as per our plan.

Q: Talk to us about your capex plans, because that is the necessary input to arrest your subscriber decline. From the FPO proceeds, ₹12,750 crore is outlined for capex. Once you get the bank funding, and of the total capital raise of ₹45,000 crore approximately, how much goes into capex? If you could break that up in 4G and 5G.

A: I can’t give you specific guidance. But let’s start with the FPO proceeds. ₹12,750 is for capex; spectrum is about ₹2,000 crore. but we don’t need to buy much of a new spectrum. So the split of ₹12,750 crore is ₹5,720 for 5G rollout, and the remaining ₹7,000 crore is for 4G, roughly equally split between 4G coverage expansion and 4G capacity growth.

While we need to grow the 4G capacity, we need to roll out 5G. The reason why we lose subscribers disproportionately today is only because of lack of 4G coverage. And today, our share of new customer acquisitions is actually higher than our customer market share. So the only thing we need to arrest is the loss of subscribers, and which I am very confident that once we are able to plug this coverage gap.

Q: How many quarters do you think it will take before the subscriber decline comes to an end?

A:  I would say that 4G coverage expansion will happen very quickly because the vendors are ready with the equipment, the towers are already there and we just have to deploy equipment on existing towers. I cannot give you a timeline, but we are confident it should happen at great speed.

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Q: On 5G, why are you only targeting achieve covering 40% of your revenue base in the next two to two and a half years when he appears already have a pan India rollout?

A: For 5G, that is our plan today, it could be modified. And you will have seen what has happened with 5G is that on the consumer side, there is not so much a 5G use case and monetisation has been a challenge.

Also, when you moved from 3G to 4G on your phone, you could see a very big experience difference. But with 5G, that is not the case. So, 5G is not a factor in operators competition, gaining a disproportionate market share right.

Q: Now the question of how and when on tariff hikes. Your ARPU (average revenue per user) is ₹145 per month. What is your own internal assessment? When can the first tariff hike take place, the quantum and the next one?

A: The Indian ARPUs are the lowest and I think lowest not by a small margin by but a big margin. So that is the important factor. The second thing to be kept in mind is that today, none of the players are returning their cost of capital. And it has not been just a year or so it has been five or six long years. And that was the scenario when 4G investments were made, 5G investments have added on to that. And 5G monetisation is still not to be seen. So the imperative for tariff correction just to get to a return on cost of capital being

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Q: What should the ARPUs be for you to be able to return your cost of capital?

A: I am not at liberty to say that, but there is enough commentary from our peers.

Q: Is it 300? That’s the commentary from your peers.

A: That number appears to be right.

Q: The Street is expecting that we will see a tariff hike post elections of a magnitude that we have seen in the past, which was 20%. Is this a fair assessment in your own mind?

A: I cannot say what would be the next price increase. But we have seen that this quantum of price increase is absorbed in the market without much of an implication. So I would say that the consumer at this level, is willing to accept.

For more, watch the accompanying video

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Before Vodafone Idea FPO, CEO says Indian ARPUs amongst lowest in the world

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vodafone Idea’s CEO Akshaya Moondra, in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18 a day before the telco’s follow-on public offer (FPO) opens, rued that ARPUs, or average revenue per user, in India are amongst the lowest in the world, and by a huge margin.

According to Moondra, none of the telecom players are currently yielding returns on their cost of capital, given the existing ARPU levels.

“A tariff correction is imperative just to get a return on the cost of capital,”  Moondra said, adding the market could potentially absorb price increases similar to those observed in the past, around 20%, without significant repercussions.

The company’s ARPU was at ₹145 in the December quarter of FY24, up 7.5% year-on-year from ₹135 in the same third quarter of FY23. The CEO had said after the December quarter that the company had been able to increase its ARPU consecutively over the past 10 quarters.

When asked what the ARPU should be so that telcos can ensure a reasonable return on investment, Moondra said he is not at liberty to quote a number. Still, he said there is considerable commentary from industry peers on the matter and the figure of ₹300. “That number appears to be right,” he said.

Vodafone Idea has been consistently losing subscribers. According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Vodafone Idea lost 15.2 lakh subscribers in January. The management had earlier mentioned it has 215 million subscribers.

Moondra attributed the company’s disproportionate loss of subscribers to insufficient 4G coverage. Nevertheless, he conveyed optimism: “We expect 4G coverage expansion to happen very quickly. We want to improve our market share.”

Vodafone Idea Ltd.’s ₹18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) opened for subscription on April 18. The company plans to allocate more than two-thirds or 70% of the funds raised towards capital expenditure to bolster its network infrastructure and expand its market presence.

Moondra told CNBC-TV18 that ₹5,720 crore of the total fundraising will be used in the 5G rollout. He added that the money raised would be enough to fund capex plans for the next three years.

The 4G investment of ₹7,000 crore will be “roughly equally split between 4G coverage expansion and 4G capacity growth.”

Vodafone Idea has fixed the FPO price band between ₹10 to ₹11. The stock has risen 113% over the last 12 months.

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Mobile bills may go up post the election

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mobile bills are likely to rise as Balaji Subramanian, Vice President of IIFL Securities, expects telecom companies to increase tariffs post-elections.

“The first round of tariff increases should happen probably after the election. So, sometime in the second half of calendar 2024. And if you look at this industry, typically, price hikes happen every two years. So, we had something in late 2019, in 2021; this time since we are in the run-up to elections and the middle of calendar year 2026, we could see another tariff increase of 15-20%,” he told CNBC-TV18.

Subramanian believes most companies require substantial price increases in the next 2-3 years.

He also mentioned that in the broader industry context, perhaps after the elections, Reliance might contemplate making Jio platforms publicly available.

Therefore, leading up to that event, a rise in tariffs would enhance the profitability of all companies in the industry.

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Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea announced in a filing on April 12 that it has set the price range for its Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) at ₹10 to ₹11 per share. The FPO is scheduled to begin on April 18 and end on April 22. The company aims to raise ₹18,000 crore through this FPO.

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For the entire interview, watch the accompanying video

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Bharti Airtel shares can cross ₹1,500 as telco set for best financial performance in 10 years: Analyst

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Bharti Airtel shares have the potential to rise over ₹280 more, says brokerage firm Antique which has initiated coverage on the telecom company with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of ₹1,505. The target price implies an upside of more than 23% in the stock price from the April 9 close.

Bharti Airtel shares trade almost 1.5% higher at ₹1,219.50 on BSE at 10:20 am on April 10. In the past year, the stock has made investors richer by 58% as against the benchmark Sensex’s 25% rise during the same period.

Antique believes the telecom company is set to ride its best financial performance phase in over a decade driven by tariff hikes, 2G upgradation and strong growth of the enterprise. The brokerage expects return ratios to top 20%.

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In fact, following the October to December 2023 results, Morgan Stanley pointed out that Airtel’s higher-than-expected capex led to lower free cash flow (FCF) and that higher finance lease obligations resulted in higher net debt versus expectations.

As per its latest note, Antique expects the telco to witness historic high free cash flows that will drive balance sheet deleveraging.

The brokerage also pointed to certain challenges like Bharti Airtel choosing a different 5G rollout path versus key competitors. However, it believes it is unlikely to dent the firm’s subscriber base or growth significantly.

The data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) earlier this week shows that the Sunil Mittal-led firm upped its wireless subscriber count by 7.78 lakh, taking its mobile tally to 15.30 lakh in February.

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Reliance Jio dominates telecom market with 35.98 lakh new subscribers in February: TRAI data

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The country’s largest telecom company Reliance Jio added 35.98 lakh mobile subscribers in February 2024, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday, April 8.

Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel upped its wireless subscriber count by 7.78 lakh, taking its mobile tally to 15.30 lakh in February.

Vodafone Idea continued to bleed on the subscriber front, and the troubled telco lost wireless subscribers. Its mobile subscriber base stood at 10.23 lakh in February, as per TRAI data.

Earlier in February, TRAI invited views on enabling virtual network operators to tie up with more than one telecom operator to provide wireless and wireline services.

At present, a virtual network operator (VNO) is allowed to partner with only one telecom operator for providing services which need numbering and unique identity of the customers like mobile connection etc.

TRAI had issued a consultation paper on “Connectivity to Access Service VNOs From More Than one NSO (network service operator)” following reference made by the Department of Telecom based on representation made by VNOs.

“The Authority is issuing this consultation paper for soliciting comments of stakeholders on the issues related to connectivity to access service VNOs from more than one NSO,” Trai had said.

The VNOs have requested the DoT to allow them to take connectivity from a telecom operator for wireline services and wireless services from others.

The VNO cited that they face problems in cases where the VNO takes connectivity from a telecom operator who is providing only wireline services in that area then such a VNO has no option for providing wireless services in that area due to existing restrictions.

The VNOs have requested that their peers who intend to provide wireline services only may be required to take connectivity from more than one telecom operator because in some cases partner telecom operators may not have services in some areas where the VNO wants to provide its services.

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ATC Telecom tells Vodafone Idea to convert ₹1,440-crore worth OCDs into equity shares

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) on Tuesday, March 19, said ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Ltd has requested the company to convert optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) amounting ₹1,440 crore into equity shares.

“We wish to inform you that in accordance with the terms of the OCDs, ATC has vide its notice dated 18 March 2024 requested for conversion of 14,400 (Fourteen Thousand and Four Hundred only) OCDs into 144,00,00,000 (One Hundred and Forty Four Crore) fully paid-up equity shares,” the company said in a stock exchange filing.

“The company will be taking necessary action to allot the above-mentioned Equity Shares to ATC pursuant to the conversion of the said OCDs,” Vodafone Idea said.

The move comes after Vodafone Idea had issued optionally convertible debentures amounting to ₹1,600 crore to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Ltd in February 2023 after receipt of approval from the shareholders and requisite intimation to stock exchanges. Further, in August 2023, the term of redemption of the first tranche of OCDs amounting to ₹800 crore was extended by 12 months.

ATC is one of the largest infrastructure service providers for Vodafone Idea and both entities have a long-term relationship. In the spirit of this partnership, ATC subscribed to OCDs amounting to ₹1,600 crore, proceeds of which were primarily utilised against payment of dues to ATC. The conversion price of ₹10, at the time of OCD issuance, was at a premium to the then prevailing market price of Vodafone Idea share, the company added.

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd ended at ₹12.86, down by ₹0.31, or 2.35%, on the BSE.

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