The mush awaited push for the Broadband Data Services has began with the DoT flagging off the auction just a while ago in New Delhi.
The bidding for BWA could turn out to be equally competitive as that for 3G, as the number of operators (11) who are participating in the BWA bidding process (for two slots) is more than the number of operators (9) bidding for the 3G licensing process (for three slots).
In our opinion, incumbent operators (such as Bharti, Vodafone, etc.) should theoretically not be as aggressive in the BWA auction as they were in the 3G auction (given that in 3G they could have been concerned of losing their existing 2G subs to competitors if they did not get the license), we believe the attractiveness of the 2.3 GHz spectrum could make them aggressive in the BWA bidding process.
Internationally, historical precedence indicates that incumbents have generally been aggressive in grabbing any spectrum that was being auctioned, in order to strengthen their dominance and keep potential competitors away. In addition, we believe operators will be aggressive in procuring BWA licenses in those circles where they did not obtain 3G licenses. Stay tuned for more updates on the Broadband Auction.
Bidders / Participants of BWA Spectrum Auction India:
- Bharti Airtel No. 1 wireless operator by subs Bharti; – Broadband Services – Yes
- RCOM No. 2 wireless operator by subs Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. Broadband Services Yes
- Idea Cellular No. 5 wireless operator by subs Aditya Birla Group, Broadband Services – No
- Vodafone No. 3 wireless operator by subs Vodafone Group Plc. Yes (Internationally)
- TCOM Provides enterprise services & Tata Group Broadband Services -Yes
- Aircel GSM operator, Maxis (74%) Apollo Hospitals (26%) – Broadband Services – No
- Augere Wireless broadband services Sanjiv Ahuja Yes (Internationally)
- Infotel Broadband Part of the HFCL group, which Mahendra Nahata Broadband Services – Yes
- Services manufactures telecom equipments. (Chairman of HFCL group)
- Qualcomm Inventor of CDMA technology. Broadband Services – No
- Spice ISP Part of Spice Global, which has BK Modi – Broadband Services – No
- Tikona Digital Network service provider, Prakash Bajpai – Broadband Services -Yes
Five rounds were completed on the first day of BWA auction. Delhi and Mumbai circles saw an excess demand of six bidders each on the first day, with two slots available in each circle.
The bids for a pan-India BWA licence reached INR23bn, from a reserve price of INR17bn.
You are Wrong, Expect BWA bidding to be more aggressive than 3G because:
1. There are two licenses being auctioned in each circle and eleven bidders vs. three licenses and nine bidders in the recently completed 3G auction 2. he BWA allows the operator to provide any service for which it has / will acquire the license using this spectrum. So hypothetically, along with data services we believe one cannot rule out voice applications on BWA, if and when the technology permits.