IDC estimates 5.8M 4G LTE subscribers in India by year-end 2015
Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm expects to launch commercial 4G LTE services across India by December, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said during the company’s annual shareholders meeting.
Ambani said that the company expects to launch a beta testing phase in the coming months. The LTE service will be offered through spectrum in the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands. Reliance has had a pan-India LTE license in the 2300 MHz band since 2010.
Reliance Jio’s LTE service is expected to cover India’s 29 states and reach 80% of the country’s population at the time of launch. The company also expects LTE coverage to reach 100% of the population within the next three years, Ambani added. Reliance Jio Infocomm currently has a presence in 18,000 cities and towns across India.
However, Reliance Jio may face several challenges with the launch of LTE services. According to Shiv Putcha, IDC Asia Pacific associate director, the main challenge for the telco is the lack of a fallback option.
“Without a 2G GSM network to fall back on in all areas, users will be exposed to call drops when they move away from LTE coverage,” Putcha said. “Unless Reliance Jio has blanket LTE coverage immediately at launch, they will be exposed to fundamental risks, which can be mitigated by signing roaming agreements with existing 2G GSM operators,” the analyst added.
Indian mobile operators Airtel and Aircel have already launched LTE services in limited areas of the country. Airtel initially launched LTE in 2012, and currently offers the service in 29 cities across the country including Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh and Amritsar. Aircel launched LTE in July 2014 in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Odisha. Both operators are offering the service through spectrum in the 2300 MHz band.
According to Putcha, India will end 2015 with 5.8 million LTE subscribers. By the end of next year, the country is expected to reach a total of 14 million customers.
“LTE will not be disruptive to the Indian market in the short term. Numerous challenges persist, including gaps in coverage, quality of mobile phones, affordability of devices and tariff plans,” he said.
