CDMA network shutdown and corresponding loss of business and goodwill. We note that RCOM had a fiercely loyal set of reasonable-ARPU CDMA and EVDO dongle subscribers who were asked to buy new devices and migrate to the shared RCOM-Jio LTE network as RCOM shut down its CDMA operations pan-India. We do not have any numbers to assess what the loss in the CDMA business has been, if any. However, even a casual look at various social media platforms would suggest a strong sense of discontent with the company?s decision, handling of the migration process, as well as post-migration tariffs.
While RCOM getting access to Jio?s LTE network through the sharing agreements and hence being able to sell LTE services under its brand name is the other (positive) side of the CDMA network shutdowns, we are not entirely convinced on RCOM?s ability (as a brand) to compete with the likes of Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, and Jio in the LTE sweepstakes. To that extent, we see the net impact of the development on the P&L to be neutral at best.
