Reliance Communications (RCom) said that the Indian telecom department has approved 800 Mhz spectrum sharing with Reliance Jio, following which the company, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), is now able to share spectrum with the soon-to be launched pan-Indian 4G operator in nine telecom circles. These nine circles are Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (East), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orrisa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East.
“Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken on record 800Mhz Spectrum sharing in 7 circles of the Company and 2 circles of Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), wholly owned subsidiary with RJIL on April 21 2016,” the Anil Ambani-owned company said in a filing.
Following the approval, RCom will now be able to launch high-speed 4G services in these nine circles, along with Reliance Jio on 10 MHz block in sub GHz spectrum (800 Mhz band). A 10 Mhz block can provide up to 80 Mbps speeds and, with the 800 Mhz spectrum advantage, this can deliver Internet faster than many wire-line broadband or Wi-Fi services offered today at a much more affordable cost.
Moreover, the DoT nod also paves way for similar arrangement in the remaining 13 circles as well, where Reliance Jio will be acquiring spectrum from RCom through spectrum trading.
In an official statement, RCom said that this spectrum capability can be compared to services provided by Global Telecom Leaders like AT&T and Verizon. RCom and Reliance Jio can have a common Radio Access Network and will not have to duplicate the radio network investment.
