<div>Videocon Telecommunications Limited (VTL) is trying to do something that no other telecom service provider in the country has tried to do before. It plans to launch mobile broadband services using LTE (long term evolution) on the 1800MHz band by March 2014. All other operators are looking to launch broadband wireless services in the 2600MHz band.<br /><br />Videocon can do that since it has acquired liberalised spectrum in the November 2012 auction. That allows it to offer any kind of service—be it 2G, 3G, 4G or anything else. Unlike incumbent operators, the entire spectrum owned by Videocon is liberalised.<br /><br />Videocon whose licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court in February 2012 had already invested close to Rs 10,000 crore on the network. It won 5MHz of spectrum in six circles — Gujarat, Haryana, UP west, UP east, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh—for Rs 2,221 crore during the November 2012 spectrum auction. The initial focus of Videocon Telecommunications will be on these six circles which account for 46 per cent of the population. Barring Haryana and Gujarat, the teledensity in these circles is lower than the national average.<br /><br />What VTL is trying to do is not new. It is trying to replicate what some global operators including Australia’s Telstra and Deutsche Telecom among others have already done. The 1800 MHz band is dominant band for LTE network deployments. At least 58 operators, use 1800 MHz spectrum either as a single band system, or as part of a multi-band deployment, in 39 countries.<br /><br />As of end January 2013, VTL had 2.25 million subscribers across the six circles. “We are looking to be a pan-India player over the next two to three years, “ says says Arvind Bali, director & CEO, Videocon Telecommunications. VTL is collaboration with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks to upgrade its existing network. Videocon expects to leverage the growth in 3G and LTE services over the next couple of years. According to a study, the 3G and LTE base is expected to exceed 120 million by 2015 from the current 20 million.<br /><br />However, the big question is whether there will be an ecosystem for LTE on the 1800MHz band. Many of the newer devices launched in recent times—iPhone 5, Samsung Note 2—can offer LTE on the 1800MHz band. However, the bulk of the devices are either routers or dongles. As a telecom consultant points out: It remains to be seen whether the company will be able to acquire subscribers willing to pay big money for an iPhone or Note2.”<br /><br />Videocon would start by offering 4G services in select areas of each circle. “We can always acquire more spectrum depending on future requirements,” Bali said. However, the success of the service will depend on the quality of the network and the possible solutions that people can use it for.</div>
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