Reliance Jio Infocomm needs to significantly ramp-up network and distribution footprint to compete with incumbents. Also, it needs to roll-out a pan-India network with 50% coverage of rural Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCAs) to fulfill the mandated five-year roll-out obligations. High 4G handset prices and high power consumption of multi-band handsets are major impediments given low income levels and erratic power situation in India.
COAI believes that Reliance JIO is unlikely to bid for 900MHz band spectrum in upcoming auction since 1) It is not suitable for 4G, and 2) It did not bid for the same in the earlier auction for metro circles. Given its presence in the 1,800MHz band, Reliance JIO would likely be able to use spare capacity of other operators through spectrum sharing for voice once spectrum sharing is cleared.
