The Indian telecom authorities chose TD-LTE, a relatively newer technology and that is still been tried out globally. Globally, there have been commercial rollouts in FD-LTE by large scale operators such as Verizon and AT&T, however TD-LTE rollouts are at a
nascent stage. Hence the device ecosystem for TD-LTE services, especially on the 2.3 GHz spectrum is poor. The following Chart Shows the Global 4G LTE[TD/ FDD] Deployments by various Operators and their operating frequency bands as well.
Reduced spectrum prices and better industry profitability may result in new entrants or consolidation amongst challengers (RCOM, Tata DoCoMo, Telenor, MTS, Aircel). Moreover, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) planned foray into 4G data services is likely to be accompanied with voice services based on our conversations with industry participants. Furthermore, RJIL has to contend with several challenges on the technological front for marrying voice with 4G services.
We’ll separately discuss Reliance Jio Infocomm’s Voice Services in the next article.