CDMA auctions may add a new competitor

The Cabinet will decide on the proposals to reduce the base price on the 800MHz CDMA spectrum by 30-50%. Although the auctions for CDMA did not attract any participants in November, we believe that Sistema could likely expand its footprint in the CDMA category, since it already owns 2.5MHz of spectrum.

The recently concluded auction marked the exit of four players in India—Etisalat, STel and Loop. Although these players had limited market share, their presence did impact incumbent tariff strategy. We do not expect Etisalat, STel and Loop to return to the market.