Airtel, Vodafone and Idea analytics team are working overtime to unveil more plans for subscribers by offering more voice/data for same monthly spend, and introducing bundled plans for the mass market. A voice rate cut by Big-3 would squeeze lower-end telcos, potentially driving faster consolidation, and thus a subscriber tailwind for A-Vo-Id Operators.
This will also lead to Spectrum sharing deals for 4G rollout in 1800 and/or 2300 band. An early VoLTE rollout in FY18/19 on 1800 - this could also result in front-ending of 700 purchase versus our current assumption of FY18/19/20.
Incumbents may respond in following ways to counter Jio?s strategy - Buying "capacity spectrum" in key circles in upcoming auction?an additional 1800 or a 2100 carrier or a block of 2300 spectrum.
