FREE

MOSL: Telecom-Increasing network capacity to support demand growth-Bharti leading the race

​Telecom: Increasing network capacity to support demand growth; Bharti leading the race; Voda-Idea merger synergies two years out

We met a few telecom network experts and equipment vendors. Based on our discussion, we gather:

• ​High data volumes have led India to move towards carrier aggregation - 4.5g has increased large operators' data throughput.
  
• Single RAN has led to ~50% optimization in capex and opex across telcos.
  
• 5g could be about four years away in India.
  
• Tower companies' revenues are not getting impacted by single RAN, as loading charges are billed per technology (2g, 3g, 4g), and not per BTS.
  
• RJio's lower rental sites, small cell deployment, and 70% owned sites might imply lower network cost than the incumbents. However, its employee base at 3-4x the top telco's could be a drag.
  
• Vodafone-Idea merger synergies may take about two years. While issues relating to multiple vendors and long-term vendor contracts can be resolved relatively fast, network synergies could take longer.