Older telecom players hope to acquire more users, spectrum

A day after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 telecom licenses, most of the old telecom networks were cautiously optimistic, on Friday, about garnering more users and acquiring extra spectrum.

A leading player even went to the extent of saying that everybody was welcome on its network. Vodafone launched a promotion campaign in newspapers with the tagline, ‘Everybody’s welcome to the network that you can depend upon’, asking customers to switch over to its network using the mobile number portability (MNP) service.

Avail MNP

Telecom regulator TRAI has said that following the court ruling on Thursday, it would see that interests of affected operators’ subscribers are protected. It has also said that those users who want to switch can avail the mobile number portability service. About 50 million customers are expected to be left unserviced once the licenses of the affected firms such as Idea Cellular, Uninor and Tata Teleservices are cancelled.  
Other players, when contacted, said they were hopeful and were watching the situation as it evolved.

About the opportunities that lie ahead, Mahesh Uppal, telecom analyst and director of consultancy firm Com First India, said Bharti Airtel would be benefited the most as there was no legal challenge to its licenses.

Biggest gainer

“Airtel, the market leader, stands to benefit most among existing players since the ruling affects none of its nationwide licenses. Vodafone’s situation is similar too,” Uppal aid. “Incumbents faced reduced access to spectrum earlier. They will welcome the auction of more spectrum,” he added.

Idea Cellular, whose nine licenses issued in 2008 have been cancelled, still holds licenses in 15 circles. Asked if the company would soon start afresh with their much talked about ‘No Idea, Get Idea’ campaign, a representative said: “We are not encashing on any opportunity but obviously would like to ensure that we are in a position to secure our investments and our customers.”