Government is looking to auction the unsold 800 MHz CDMA spectrum. In our view, the reserve price of this spectrum is not cheap. As the contiguous 800 MHz spectrum could be used for LTE, we expect some telcos to bid for this. However contiguous spectrum is only present in 4 circles ? Mumbai, MP, North East and Assam. Amongst all telcos, we believe Bharti/R-Jio may likely look to acquire some 800 MHz.
In our view, telcos may think of bidding for non-contiguous spectrum if they could realign that spectrum post auctions and make it contiguous. We consider this as a risky move and remain unsure if telcos may consider this strategy. Furthermore, after government
announces spectrum trading/leasing agreements, telcos may look to lease the 800 MHz spectrum from existing CDMA telcos in India
In our view, limited availability of 800 MHz LTE smartphones could be a deterrent for telcos to bid aggressively
