In India, the government has allocated 2100 MHz and 2300 MHz spectrum bands for 3G and BWA (4G) services, respectively. These are relatively inferior frequencies and require more tower sites/tenancies to provide coverage in a specific area compared to 900 or 1800 MHz spectrum.
According to the new telecom policy, the telecom operators can deploy any technology on the spectrum awarded through the auction i.e. the spectrums will be technology neutral. Notably, so far, the spectrum that telecom players owned could be used for a pre-determined service/technology only. For example, 900/1800 MHz spectrum could be used for GSM (2G), 800 MHz for CDMA (2G), 2100 MHz for 3G and 2300 MHz for 4G services.
The technology neutrality would allow telecom operators to provide 3G / BWA services at relatively more efficient spectrum (900/1800 MHz). Hence, the number of towers required to roll out coverage will be meaningfully lower, which would impact Bharti Infratel’s (and tower industry’s) growth prospect.