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As said before there are a lot of music streaming and downloading services available today in India. And some of them are really good. On Tuesday we saw the launch of <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> Wynk in an already crowded online audio streaming market. This can be named as a play to ramp up the data consumption on Airtel’s mobile network, which most mobile service providers are trying to do these days. 
 So how will other telecom operators like Vodafone, Reliance and <keyword id="41511" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="idea">Idea</keyword> respond to this new music aficionado? We have seen, on numerous occasions in the past, that when a telecom operator starts giving a service, others follow the suit. It will be a classic build vs buy vs partner conundrum for them. The first two options will have higher turnaround time for rolling out a robust product. Alternatively, Vodafone or Reliance could very well go with a deep-rooted platform, like Gaana, available on the mobile and PC to get hold of a ready-to-use customer base. 
 
This will enable service providers like Idea, Reliance, Aircel and Vodafone to quickly setup their shops. Moreover, this will also reduce the head ache of getting an app or software ready for their customers. By using an existing platform they can readily package and sell it to the subscriber base. 
 Audio suppliers such as Gaana (who has more than 3 million songs, when compared to 1.7 million that Wynk has) has a strong hold in the segment and is catering to large audiences all across India and the globe. So why should one choose the new service <keyword id="2499907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wynk-Music">Wynk Music</keyword> over others? 
 
Well, in our opinion Airtel is not offering anything out-of-the box. The application’s interface is nothing new and boasts of playlist features that we have seen before. Moreover, the audio library is nowhere near the competition. Yes, Airtel might package it as a value added service for its customers in the future. But right now, it is a new service and people are generally apprehensive to try something new. Today’s consumers, at least on the online and mobile platforms, are very educated. They just don’t swing from one app to the other, unless there is a drastic change or a better offering in the new one. They keep on using the tried and tested few. 
 
Disclaimer: Times Internet, which runs Business Insider India, also runs Gaana, one of the services discussed in this article

Does It Make Sense
To Go With Airtel Wynk? How Other Telecom Operators Should Respond To The
Musical Outbreak

With appraisal arrears due and inflation in everyday stuff going up, you have one relief. At least your mobile bills are all set to go south. If you are the one who travels a lot and spends a lot on <keyword id="74066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roaming-charges">roaming charges</keyword>, you are the biggest beneficiary of the new scheme. Most telcos have given up on <keyword id="6515745" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="roaming">roaming</keyword> charges from this month onwards. While <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword> had already scrapped roaming charges last year itself, Airtel has done the same this month. Also Airtel has scrapped off the premium outgoing charges for roaming networks, which means you can now call and receive just like at your home even when you travel. <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India, <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> and <keyword id="6360249" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aircel">Aircel</keyword> were bound to take this step to compete with Reliance <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>’s killer schemes that are wooing consumers like anything. After Jio has entered the telecom market in India, it has experienced tremendous whirlpool as the aggressive schemes of the former have sucked in a lot of client base from the established networks. Market experts Business Insider spoke to also believe severe network issues and call drops are highly responsible for the shift from established ones to new comer Jio. “When people realized that the network isn’t much trustworthy, why would they pay so much! Also many people are using Skypes and Whatsapp while travelling. This kind of extra charges don’t make much sense.” an expert told Business Insider. Jio’s several schemes also include free calls for lifetime even in roaming networks.

Your mobile bills are all set to decrease. Here’s why

<ul><li>According to the report, Google is looking to acquire a stake of 5% in <keyword id="1553175" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-Idea">Vodafone Idea</keyword>.</li><li>The news comes after Facebook picked up a 9.99% stake in leading telecom operator Reliance Jio for $5.7 billion.</li><li>Google’s interest in Vodafone Idea could be an after-thought, after it reportedly missed out on the Jio deal to Facebook.</li></ul>Shares of Vodafone Idea have surged by more than 30% on May 29 after reports suggested Google is exploring a stake purchase in struggling telecom operator. The move comes after Facebook picked up a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio, India’s leading telecom operator. According to a <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3f763918-d0b1-4a02-a581-e241753c75eb">report</a> by Financial Times, Google could pick up a 5% stake in Vodafone Idea. The report also adds that the talks are still in a “very early stage”, so the details of the deal could change. The report further adds that Google is also in talks to acquire a stake in Reliance Jio, and that the talks are still ongoing. However, since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/why-facebook-owner-mark-zuckerberg-wants-stake-in-mukesh-ambani-owned-reliance-jio/articleshow/74803994.cms">Facebook has already joined Jio</a>, it might make sense for Google to pick up a stake in Vodafone Idea, which is the second largest telco in the country by number of subscribers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74964136" title="A new research report says Vodafone Idea has to increase tariff by 39% to survive – and that will be a bounty for Reliance Jio and Airtel" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[<div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/2615319" data-url="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/2615319/embed"></div>]]></cdata></div> Note: Vodafone Idea's share price on 29-05-2020 is taken at 12:10 pm. A deal with Vodafone Idea could also come at a comparatively discounted price. Even though its share price has increased by 84% since March, it is relatively cheaper when compared to rival telecom operators like Airtel. <table><tbody><tr><td>Company</td><td>Market capitalisation (in crore)</td></tr><tr><td>Reliance Jio</td><td>₹4,89,075</td></tr><tr><td>Airtel</td><td>₹3,07,000</td></tr><tr><td>Vodafone Idea</td><td>₹16,665</td></tr></tbody></table> Note: Reliance Jio's valuation is based on the latest investment made by KKR. Airtel and Vodafone Idea's valuations are based on the closing price as on May 28, 2020. Vodafone Idea and its timeline of woes Since the entry of Jio, Vodafone Idea has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-and-its-timeline-of-woes/articleshow/74577942.cms">posted cumulative losses</a> of ₹77,000 crore, with ₹50,922 crore coming in September 2019 alone. It was hit by a demand of ₹53,000 crore by the Supreme Court for recovery of adjusted gross revenue dues. In November 2019, the telco’s UK parent Vodafone Plc wrote down the value of its Indian entity to nil. It also lost 36 million subscribers in the same month. According to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">latest numbers</a> released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Vodafone Idea has 336 million subscribers, while Jio is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/microsoft-mukesh-ambani-reliance-jio-are-partners-but-satya-nadella-wants-more/articleshow/76057690.cms">said</a> to have 387 million subscribers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74577942" title="Vodafone Idea and its timeline of woes" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The Indian telecom sector is too lucrative for the big tech companies to ignore The Indian telecom sector presents a good investment opportunity for big tech companies to expand their presence in the country. Although Vodafone Idea’s status is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/bharti-airtels-ceo-wants-vodafone-idea-to-survive-and-stay-on/articleshow/73973990.cms">critical right now</a>, the recent price hikes by all the three major telecom companies gives it a chance to survive in the market. Further, the Jio-Facebook deal has opened up the Indian telecom sector for investments. Since the deal with Zuckerberg’s company, Jio has found buyers in KKR, General Atlantic, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners. Airtel, the third-biggest telco, is also <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/airtel-parent-to-raise-1-billion-via-share-sale-today/articleshow/75989710.cms">looking to raise</a> $1 billion by selling a 2.75% stake to Fidelity, Segantii Capital, Norges Bank and others. Jio changed the face of Indian telecom sector India’s telecom sector has seen major upheaval since the entry of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio. After Jio’s entry, the Indian telecom sector has seen minor players like Tata Docomo, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Telenor either wind up or sell their business to Airtel. Amidst all this, Vodafone and Idea, which were two separate operators, decided to merge in 2018 to take on Reliance Jio. However, since then, the merged entity Vodafone Idea has been losing millions of customers due to multiple issues, including business uncertainty and a fall in its quality of service. Jio was the major beneficiary of this, going on to become the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-becomes-the-largest-telco-by-revenue-and-subscribers-as-industry-shows-signs-of-recovery/articleshow/73667566.cms">largest telecom operator in India</a> both by revenue and number of subscribers. Update: Vodafone Idea in a statement to NSE has said, "As part of corporate strategy, the company constantly evaluates various opportunities for enhancing the stakeholders’ value. As and when such proposals are considered by the Board of Directors of the Company warranting disclosures, the Company shall comply with the disclosure obligations under the SEBI Regulations. Currently, there is no proposal as reported by the media that is being considered at the Board." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-share-price-target-as-africa-unit-nears-a-billion-dollars-in-revenue/articleshow/75970641.cms">Airtel’s Africa unit is now a nearly-billion dollar business where every user pays 40% more than the one in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/if-vodafone-idea-increases-tariff-it-will-help-airtel-and-reliance-jio/articleshow/74964136.cms">A new research report says Vodafone Idea has to increase tariff by 39% to survive – and that will be a bounty for Reliance Jio and Airtel</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/india-is-changing-its-mobile-habits-and-that-can-help-airtel-and-vodafone/articleshow/75152973.cms">India is changing its mobile habits and that can help Airtel and Vodafone</a>

Vodafone Idea shares surge more than 30% after Google reportedly considers a stake in the debt-laden telco

When <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> announced the tariff plans of his <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>, he started a sort of pricing war in the telecom sector. 
 
Ambani disrupted the sector by offering 1GB data for just Rs 50, when other operators charge at least Rs 250 for the same. 
 
He also announced free voice calls from Reliance Jio to any operator, also asking other operators not to disrupt the common touch point. 
 The string of announcements made during the Reliance Annual General Meeting (AGM) tanked <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword> and Idea’s shares. 
 However, <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone and Idea will be battling it out with more lucrative offerings. 
 
Rajan Mathews, director-general of GSM industry body Cellular Operators Association of India, told ET the incumbents could match Jio's launch offerings. 
 "The battle lines have now been clearly drawn. You have Jio with <keyword id="46907" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword>, Aircel and MTS on one side and Bharti, Vodafone and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> on the other," he said. 
 
It also noteworthy that the telecom industry in under Rs 35,000 crore of debt and with the airwave auction coming up, the debt is going to go up. 
 
"Jio's launch has been one of the key worries we have had for the last couple of years, and this is turning out to be quite negative. We continue to stay cautious," Credit Suisse said. 
 
The consumers are going to benefit from the pricing war but it is yet to see how sustainable the model is.

Reliance Jio has triggered tariff battle; Idea, Vodafone to strike back with attractive pricing

The telecom department will most likely reject the demand raised by <keyword id="46907" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword> for a financial package to bail out the debt burdened telecom sector. However, it can extend a helping hand to the industry in terms of other reliefs like extended tenures for spectrum payments etc. As per officials from the Department of Telecommunications (<keyword id="16054" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="DoT">DoT</keyword>), meetings with carriers including <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India, <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, Aircel, <keyword id="6359475" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tata-Teleservices">Tata Teleservices</keyword> and Reliance Communications have been held over the past two weeks regarding the issue of debts in the telecom sector. DoT officials are trying to understand what all financial troubles telcos have been going through before they enter into a formal meeting with the inter-ministerial group (IMG) that the cabinet secretary has set up to begin on June 12. "The first formal meeting of the IMG is yet to take place and the issues of the telecom sector will be taken up at that forum," a source told <a href="http://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-rules-out-top-up-for-telcos-but-ready-to-lend-them-a-helping-hand/articleshow/58952616.cms">ET</a>. The IMG consists of four members from DoT and one each from the departments of economic affairs, revenue and finance. After holding meetings, the group is required to submit its recommendations to the central government within three months.

Slap from one hand, pat from another! Govt refuses financial help for telcos but extends helping hand

<keyword id="50781" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-number-portability">Mobile number portability</keyword>, which lets users change their service providers without changing their numbers, has clearly favored Idea Cellular the most. Idea has managed to pull almost as many subscribers as the combined number of Vodafone and Airtel. 
 
As per the Kotak Institutional Equities report, ever since MNP started in January 2011, Idea has gained 17 million users on a net basis, in comparison to 11.1 million for Vodafone and 7.3 million for Airtel. 
 
Talking of the biggest losers, Reliance Communications lost a net 10.8 million subscribers, while Aircel lost 6.6 million and Tata Teleservices lost 6.4 million subscribers, thanks to the tough competition. 
 The competition between the service providers is expected to intensify when <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> launches 4G services. 
 
Another major reason for porting within the top providers are the differences in their hi-speed 3G or 4G data networks. 
 
<a href="http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&amp;d=20150428&amp;t=2&amp;i=1044010980&amp;w=644&amp;fh=&amp;fw=&amp;ll=&amp;pl=&amp;sq=&amp;r=LYNXMPEB3R0HS">Image source</a>

Mobile number portability benefited Idea the most; 17 million users added in 5 years

Net subscriber base of six major <keyword id="6354776" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telecom">telecom</keyword> operators grew by 3.5 million to reach 776.97 million users in June 2016, after witnessing a degrowth for two successive months. "Total number of GSM subscribers as of June 2016 reached 776.97 million" and "the GSM subscribers increased by 3.50 million in June 2016," industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in its subscriber report released today. 
 The COAI shared data of six telecom operators <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword>, <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, Aircel, Telenor and MTNL, which jointly account for about 70 per cent of Indian mobile market share. 
 
In April and May, the net subscriber base of these company declined 0.22 and 0.24 million, respectively. COAI's data in May reported increase in net subscriber base which it later corrected. 
 Airtel led the growth among these players by adding 1.4 million new customers taking its total mobile subscriber base to 255.73 million. It was followed by Vodafone and Aircel who added 0.7 million new customers each, Idea Cellular 0.69 million, Telenor 0.03 million and MTNL 0.01 million new users. COAI report did not include data of <keyword id="46907" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword>, <keyword id="6359475" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Teleservices">Tata Teleservices</keyword> and BSNL who also operate mobile network using GSM technology.

Telecom subscribers grew by 3.5million to 776.97million in June

New Delhi, Feb 16 () Telecom operators <keyword id="6354287" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone Idea and <keyword id="6359475" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-teleservices">Tata Teleservices</keyword> are likely to make payment for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues on Monday to avoid stringent punitive action from the Telecom Department, according to an official source. The three companies are jointly liable to pay dues of over Rs 1 lakh crore, but they have informed the Department of Telecom (<keyword id="16054" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="DoT">DoT</keyword>) of making only partial payment, as per their representatives. "Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices have said that they will make payments on Monday. DoT will take action after evaluating the amount paid by them," an official source told . Earlier on Friday, Bharti Airtel offered the DoT to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20, but a DoT official said that the department can't grant any extension. Vodafone Idea on Saturday said that it is assessing the amount that can be paid towards AGR dues, even as it flagged concerns over the continuation of its business. Telecom operators are collectively liable to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order dated October 24, 2019. The deadline to pay the amount ended on January 23, but none of the telecom operators, except Reliance Jio, paid the amount. Even state-owned BSNL and MTNL did not pay the dues. As per the last available estimates, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charges, to the government. Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. Tata Teleservices owes around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore. Out of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, as other companies, which are liable to pay AGR dues, have folded up their businesses. <keyword id="46907" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword> and Aircel are going through insolvency proceedings. The apex court on Friday came down heavily on the Telecom Department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues, estimated to be around Rs 1.47 lakh crore from operators. The DoT issued fifth and final notice to telecom operators on February 14 for making payment on the same day, but none of the companies paid the dues. When asked about telecom operators having sought time to assess the amount they have to pay, the DoT official said that the court gave them three months to do so and even after missing January 23 deadline telecom operators had sufficient time to calculate their dues. "Before the due date, DoT has sent telecom operators 4 notices and reminders to pay to avoid punitive action under license condition. After court order on modification plea, telecom players are not left with any excuse to delay the payment and the DoT can take action against them without serving any further notice," the source said. The apex court pulled up telecom operators and the government on non-payment of AGR dues despite its order. It has asked managing directors and directors of the company to be present in person before court on the next hearing, scheduled for March 17, in case there is violation of its order in the AGR case. Public sector companies, that do not sell telecom services, owe DoT around Rs 2.65 lakh crore, with GAIL India alone owing around 65 per cent of the total amount. However, these PSUs have the option to approach court for a legal recourse.

Airtel, Vodafone and Tatas are expected to cough up spectrum dues on Monday

NEW DELHI: <keyword id="30356" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telecom-Regulatory-Authority-of-India">Telecom Regulatory Authority of India</keyword> Chairman <keyword id="155492" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rahul-Khullar">Rahul Khullar</keyword> sees mobile call rates rising by 8-9% over the year as phone companies weed out freebies. 
 
He also said in an interview with ET that the government should hasten the opening up of spectrum for high-speed access and that the new M&amp;A norms were too stringent and would inhibit much-needed consolidation in telecom. 
 
Khullar said though headline tariffs were currently at Rs 1.2 per minute, the net revenue earned by the industry — or realisation rates — were as low as 44-45 paise. “So, what you should be ready to see is some marginal rise in the effective call rates. You won’t really feel the pinch of the tariff hike because what operators are really doing is clawing back the freebies,” Khullar said. 
 
This means subscribers could find free SMSes and talktime offered by operators steadily declining. 
 
Khullar, however, warned that any move to increase headline tariffs won’t go down too well. “What we don’t expect is a rise in the headline tariffs. In case there is a rise in the headline tariffs, the authority will surely look into the matter and, depending upon the case, might intervene,” the chairman said. The regulator has a stated policy of ‘forbearance’ on tariffs. 
 Referring to the quarterly results of <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, Khullar said there were ample signs that growth was returning to the sector but warned that to keep the momentum going, the government should soon put in place a clear pro-industry policy on the most critical issues of spectrum sharing, trading, auction and overall consolidation. 
 
Khullar urged the telecom department to move faster on making more spectrum available. 
 
He said the government’s inability to increase the availability of airwaves couldn’t be explained, especially on 3G spectrum. “Four years have lapsed from the time of 3G auctions, no one could get it across the country in 2010 auctions owing to shortage of airwaves and the government further also proscribed people from sharing it,” he said. 
 
Khullar said availability of airwaves was critical for the industry. 
 
“The next big concern for the industry is scarcity of spectrum, fragmented nature and overall availability of spectrum, leave aside problems of contiguity which are huge, particularly in 800, 900 and 1800 (Mhz). So DoT should notify the spectrum trading and sharing guidelines and start the market-driven process for consolidation. While it may result in a shakeout in the industry, whatever little spectrum is available, fragmentations will end. 
 
If the government can’t release any more 3G spectrum, then DoT must find a way out through consultation and dialogue with the industry, Khullar said. 
 
At least 2100 Mhz should be put up on auction immediately and if you can’t then devise rules permitting sharing of 3G spectrum and charge them for it,” he said. In such a scenario, the government must allow the operators to share whatever airwaves they have and pay a flat charge to the government, he said. 
 
He indicated that getting DoT to change its way of thinking has taken some effort. 
 
“When I joined here two years ago, all this was a taboo, sharing, trading etc. It has taken huge effort to push the department in the direction of these changes.” 
 
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The Trai chairman allowed that various considerations had complicated matters for DoT in the past two years or so. “Now there is a new telecom secretary. To be fair to them, they need to be given some time.” 
 Operators are unhappy with telecom department’s new mergers and acquisitions rules. The cap of 50% on the <keyword id="34527" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="market-share">market share</keyword> of the combined entity and the Cabinet decision that a buyer must pay a market price for spectrum bought if it was not purchased by the seller through auctions will discourage consolidation, critics have said. 
 Saying that the cap could certainly be eased, Khullar said, “This bug of increasing competition which first led to 12-14 operators in a circle and now has led to this situation. All over the world there are about threefour operators. In US, <keyword id="28808" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ATT">AT&amp;T</keyword> and Verizon and even in Germany there are basically two main operators.” The cap currently prohibits any of the three large operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular from consolidating. 
 
On operators being asked to pay market price, Khullar said the government needed to incentivise exit and entry from the market. “If the cost of consolidation is letting an operator accumulate a premium on spectrum, it might be a small cost to pay for consolidation,” he said, adding that he was not making a case for the entire windfall gain to accumulate to operators. “But suppose an operator can buy it at 80% of the market price, then there is still some incentive for both the operators to enter into the deal.” 
 
The regulator recently issued its recommendations on sharing of airwaves, which though more liberal than those of the telecom department, still fell short of industry expectations. “Only certain things are within my purview,” Khullar said. “DoT as licensor has stipulated ceilings on spectrum holding of 25% and 50% and as a regulator I can’t change these.” 
 
Trai said in its recommendations that while sharing airwaves only half of each operator’s holding must be counted while calculating the respective caps. Explaining how he had to balance various interests, including the stated public policy, Khullar said, “If I had relaxed the caps then all the small players with 5%, 10% market share would say that this was done to ensure the GSM lobby drives all competition out.” 
 
Interestingly, while the regulator did not permit inter-band sharing of airwaves, the recommendations categorically said the regulator reserves the right to revisit this issue of permitting inter-band sharing in the future. Industry experts said the issue will need to be revisited once the regulator begins to work on the mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) policy. 
 “The problem in permitting interband sharing is that this runs counter to the stated government policy on intra-circle roaming arrangements. <keyword id="46907" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword>, Aircel and in some cases even one of the top three operators (Airtel, Vodafone, Idea) is affected by this policy,” he added.

Mobile Tariffs To Pinch You Hard As Trai May Raise Call Rates By 8-9%

New Delhi, Feb 14 () As the sword of Damocles hangs over Vodafone Idea, uncertainty continues to mire the Indian telecom sector which has seen fall of several telcos such as Etisalat DB, Reliance Communications, Sistema Shyam and Aircel. The Supreme Court on October 24, 2019, ruled that statutory dues need to be calculated by including non-telecom revenues in AGR of telcos, leading to huge liabilities of Rs 1.47 lakh crore for telcos already hit by falling revenues due to fierce competition. After facing the ire of the Supreme Court, the Department of Telecommunications asked telecom licence holders to clear entire AGR dues totalling Rs 1.47 lakh crore by the end of Friday. Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), whose liability is estimated to be around Rs 53,038 crore including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given. In this matter, Bharti Airtel's liabilities as per last available estimates added up to nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge dues, Tata Teleservices around Rs 10,000 crore, Telenor (which sold spectrum to Airtel) Rs 1,950 crore. BofA Securities, in a note on Friday, noted "overhang on VIL" and questioned if India is inching towards a two-player market. "Every incremental decision pushes India to a two-telco market," it added. Market watchers, meanwhile, said in the event of any further consolidation in the market, the tariffs could well rise by 10-25 per cent. Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said it will shut down business if the company has to pay the entire adjusted gross revenue amount and the government does not come to its rescue. Vodafone Group has said it will not pump in any fresh capital into Vodafone Idea. If the Aditya Birla group subsidiary shuts shop, Vodafone India will be the second-large company after Jet Airways to go belly up under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government. Vodafone Idea's gross debt, excluding lease liabilities, was Rs 1,15,850 crore as on December 31, 2019, including deferred spectrum payment obligations due to the government of Rs 88,530 crore. There were 13 telecom operators in the market when the Modi-led NDA government came to power in May 2014 but the companies started folding up due to market conditions and rising regulatory costs. Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read last year alleged that British telecom major Vodafone on Monday alleged that regulatory outcomes in India over the past two years have been against every telecom operator, except Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea has claimed to have invested over 3.1 lakh crore in India which includes 1.39 lakh crore for spectrum payment. The uncertainty around Vodafone Idea has also put risk over jobs of 11,700 direct employees and around 1 lakh indirect jobs. According to Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani, there have been around 20 lakh job losses in the telecom sector. His firm amalgamated mobile business of Russian Conglomerate Sistema-owned SSTL to mitigate the debt burden due to lower margin in the capital-intensive telecom vertical. Later, RCom failed to merge business with Aircel and now both the companies are going through an insolvency process. According to official data, the telecom sector's gross revenue fell about Rs 41,000 crore in three years on account of a dip in mobile services rates between 2016-17 and 2018-19 and the adjusted gross revenue on which the government earns revenue, also declined by around Rs 46,000 crore. PRS ANZ MR

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