New Delhi: Vodafone Idea Ltd is discussing ways to catch up with bigger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel Ltd in the domestic satellite internet race, even if it will launch its 5G cellular broadband network.
Jio and Airtel recently announced a partnership with US Starlink Services to launch Elon Musk’s satellite internet service in India, although they will have to wait for government approval.
Chief Technology Officer Jagbir Singh said that Vodafone Idea, India’s third largest telecommunications service provider, may provide services provided by satellite Internet, such as high-speed Internet in remote areas, and fiber optic cables required for fixed line broadband are not yet available.
Singh told Mint In the interview. “There are some open issues, such as the cost of equipment and regulatory approvals, for ground connectivity using satellites.”
That said, unlike Jio and Airtel, Vodafone’s idea does not have any partnership in the field of satellite internet. In addition to the Starlink partnership, Jio is also a joint venture with SES and Airtel in Luxembourg, and with Eutelsat One Web in London, providing satellite internet in India.
Vodafone’s idea will start 5G services in major Indian cities starting on Wednesday over two years since its competitors launched its high-speed cellular network. In the December quarter, the subscriber base of telecom operators fell 7.1% from the same period last year to 198 million, although it managed to narrow its net loss to ₹From 66.09 million ₹69.86 million.
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“Vodafone’s idea will now focus more on 5G,” said Prashanth Tapse, senior vice president of brokerage Mehta Equities.
The Indian government has decided that the spectrum of the satellite Internet will be distributed administratively, but the final distribution is still under trial.
California-based Starlink is the largest player in the world in satellite communications, controlling the constellation of nearly 7,000 small satellites in the lower orbit of Earth. Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Ltd. also launched a program called the Kupier project to provide high-speed satellite broadband services.
As of December, Starlink has more than 4.6 million subscribers worldwide.
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Vodafone’s idea expands in obstacles
Vodafone’s idea will target 75,000 websites in India to launch its 5G service over the next three years. In April last year, telecom operators raised ₹Its network infrastructure was expanded through subsequent public offers, with Rs 18,000 crore through subsequent public proposals.
Its average revenue per user (ARPU) has slightly increased to ₹173 of December quarter ₹A year ago 166, although it is lower than Jio ₹203 and Airtel’s ₹245.
“We have conducted customer analysis where 5G is deployed to identify areas where 5G is used very high.
As VI executes its expansion plan, it is necessary ₹Over the next three years, 50,000-55,000 billion ₹80,000 million.
AGR is used to determine the revenue that telecom companies must share spectrum licensing fees with the government. The government is the largest shareholder in Vodafone’s idea, owning 23% of the shares.
“The government is actually the biggest stakeholder in the entire exercise, so they are aware of this fact and (we) are confident that they will find a solution,” Vodafone Imagination CEO Modra said in a February 12 call to annual revenue with analysts.
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Although the company is focused on expanding its 5G network, analysts remain cautious about its prospects.
“We should first see the VI subscriber retention rate before releasing 5G subscribers, which is needed for sustainable operations,” said Mehta Equities’ Tapse.
JM financial analysts Dayanand Mittal and Shivam Gupta added in a February 23 note that Vodafone Idea’s “long-term sustainability remains dependent on favorable government support” and that the company needs to boost its ARPU to overdoing ₹By 2027, by 370, it will be levied to the government.
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