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Bharti Airtel Confirms Fund Raise of Rs 21,000 Crores
TRAI Guidelines on Satellite Broadband Is a Good Start for the Technology
Effect of a 5Gi Mandate Goes Beyond the Telecom Industry
BSNL Monetisation Plan Will Usher in Good Things for the Public Telco
Vodafone Idea Prepaid Plan That Jio, Airtel Cannot Compete With

Bharti Airtel Confirms Fund Raise of Rs 21,000 Crores

Posted: 29 Aug 2021 08:30 AM PDT

Bharti Airtel has just submitted its plan of fundraising with the stock exchanges of India. The second-largest telco has confirmed that it will raise Rs 21,000 crores through a rights issue. This news is certainly going to help the company's stock when it opens on Monday (assumption, not investment advice). This move from Bharti Airtel cements its plan for having enough cash in the bank so that it could invest in its networks to increase capacity and also pay off its debts more comfortably.

Bharti Airtel's Board Has Approved Fund Raising Plan

On Sunday, Bharti Airtel's board has confirmed the company's plan of raising capital through a rights issue. According to the company's submission at the stock exchanges, Airtel is going to price each share at Rs 535. Airtel's board has decided that the face value of each share will be Rs 5. The shares will be issued by the company on a rights basis to all the eligible equity shareholders of Bharti Airtel. The issue size will be up to Rs 21,000 crores. All the subscribers will have to pay 25% of the amount at the time of application, and the balance amount will have to be paid in two additional calls whenever Airtel's board decides. But all the calls for the balance amount will be made by the company within 36 months or 3 years. Bharti Airtel will offer 1 equity share from this rights issue to every shareholder who has at least 14 shares of the company on the record date. The other terms and conditions of the issue will be decided by the ‘special committee of directors’ that the company has selected. Bharti Airtel said that the promoter group and the promoter of the company will completely subscribe to the maximum extent entitled to them and will also purchase any unsubscribed shares issued in the rights issue.

TRAI Guidelines on Satellite Broadband Is a Good Start for the Technology

Posted: 29 Aug 2021 05:55 AM PDT

The satellite communication system is one of the latest tech revolutions which is slated to change the way we use network systems currently. While the race of 4G and 5G along with wired broadband is limited to terrestrial networks, the satellite broadband technology is something that will easily defeat the roadblocks faced by the currently used networks. While companies like Starlink and HughesNet are racing to launch satellites and networks in the USA, there has been no such initiative in India. However, small inklings of the satellite network ecosystem are starting to come up in India as well. The factors working for growth on this front are both from the side of the government, as well as the market forces. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also issued new guidelines based on the terms of references obtained from the government, regarding the use of satellite communication for low-band devices.

Satellite Communication in India

The limitation currently is that the low band devices constitute low-bandwidth gadgets, which are mostly in the category of Internet of Things. These devices do not require a lot of bandwidth and can function with the exchange of a few packets over the network. Such services would be vastly useful in the context of rural areas, which the government has badly wanted to connect through the means of the Community Service Centres (CSCs), Bharat Air Fibre and many other means. The ushering of satellite communication could make this possible in a very versatile and efficient manner. The current guidelines on the use of satellite communication networks set a good precedent in this regard. However, there has been no say from TRAI about the spectrum allocation in the satellite communications sector. For this, the DoT would have to issue another term of reference to the sector regulator to which the regulator would then make a draft. The government has been trying hard to make satellite communication, a viable space for tech companies and consumers alike. When the technology arrives, there will be many uses cases for it. The TRAI has also allowed the companies to now buy licences for satellite services from foreign entities, this opens many doors for the companies in India who might want to roll out certain services or research use cases for a more widespread SatCom rollout in the country in later stages.

Push from Both Public and Private Sector

Further, there is a demand from Broadband India Forum (BIF) about the launch of a portal that would allow easy information access and streamlines registration for the companies interested in buying the licenses and these services. If the portal is set up it would be another progressive step for the proliferation of Satellite communication services. The government's plans of making a new entity, New Space India Ltd (NSIL) along with the private sector's push, for example, the development of Satellite Access Terminals by Bharti Airtel paints a hopeful picture for the satellite broadband technology in India.

Effect of a 5Gi Mandate Goes Beyond the Telecom Industry

Posted: 29 Aug 2021 01:49 AM PDT

As if the Indian telecom industry was not inundated enough by roadblocks in its development and financial fruitions, the troubles are already on for the coming of 5G as well. Even before the launch of fifth-generation network technology in India, there is a raging debate going on in circles about the kind of standardisation the companies and the government would use for the deployment of 5G network. There is the much popular standard of 5G which has been developed by 3GPP. This standard is widely in use and accepted by many countries like USA, UK and others. However, in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) which represents the government's interests in the telecom industry, has been rooting for the Indianised 5G standard, also known as 5Gi. This standard has been developed by Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI).

Telecom Operators Show Concerns on 5Gi

The most vehement opposition of the 5Gi standard has been coming from the telecom operators themselves. Since they are going to be leading the 5G revolution in the country with their deployment and services of the network technology, it is their primary concern as to which standard they would have to use. The deployment of the 5G 3GPP standard allows the telcos to use the technology, software and techniques which are widely available across the world without any extra investment. On the other hand, the deployment of 5Gi would require an altogether different configuration, software and specifications that would shoot up the costs of these telecom companies.

Questions About PLI and 5Gi

However, the debate goes just beyond this. One of the schemes of the present government, which has been in the headlines is the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme. Under this scheme, the government is giving interest subvention to the manufacturers to produce goods in India and the telecommunications sector happens to be one of the major sectors in that list. The aid of Rs 1.46 lakh crore would be futile, if the government increases the manufacturer's costs on one side, and gives them benefit with the other hand. The scale would be balanced from both sides, thus not amounting to an actual benefit transfer to these manufacturers.

The Concerns of Smartphone and Other Manufacturers

Brands that are manufacturing smartphones, like Realme, Xiaomi and others, with a prominent market in India are already worried about their rising costs. The 5G modems are already expensive in the market and the support of more spectrum, such as available in the American handsets will further drive on costs if the telcos decide to rollout 5G in those spectrums. In such a circumstance, the addition of a 5Gi standard in the industry will be an additive burden on the backs of not only the telecom companies, but the other stakeholders. The question is relevant not only for the telecom industry but other manufacturers like chipset producers, handset manufacturers and telecom equipment vendors. With the changing geopolitical situation, India has an opportunity to give a base to manufacturers looking to shift away from China. While the PLI scheme is a big encouragement in this regard, the mandating of a 5Gi standard is going to be push in the opposite direction and not in the interest of the industry.

BSNL Monetisation Plan Will Usher in Good Things for the Public Telco

Posted: 28 Aug 2021 09:52 PM PDT

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is one telecom company that is often in the news headlines for the wrong reasons. The Public telecom company has registered a decline in its subscriber base quarter on quarter and month on month. There are multiple reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, is the most obvious reason for the absence of a 4G network, which is the prominent reason why subscribers have been seen leaving the BSNL network. Except in areas where BSNL 4G is available, like in circles of Kerala, the other circles of BSNL prepaid have shown grim numbers. In contrast, the performance of BSNL broadband services has been exceptionally well. BSNL's wired broadband subscribers have grown immensely, quite the opposite to its prepaid subscribers. This is on the back of a robust fibre network, attractive plans and lots of offers that BSNL has rolled out week after week. The latest wrench in the plan for BSNL's future happens to be in the form of a monetisation plan for the company's assets.

Government Push for National Monetisation Pipeline

According to the government's plan under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), BSNL and MTNL'S 14,917 mobile towers along with state-funded 2.86-lakh kilometres of BharatNet’s optic fibre network along 400 railway stations, 150 trains, and 26,700 kilometres of National Highway would be put on the block for selling to the private sector. The unions of BSNL workers have been showing apprehensions regarding this move. With a socialistic tilt, the unions of BSNL have always been in favour of maximum state holding of assets, and while their fears are ideologically right, the current situation of the market and the telecom industry in general paint a different picture.

BSNL Now Needs 5G Network

India currently stands on the brink of a 5G revolution. The government is working hard with the National Security Advisor led the committee to streamline the process of verifying producers of telecom equipment and to allow the telcos in importing the right equipment for better 4G and 5G deployment. In the meantime, BSNL's equipment caters merely to the 3G population, which by the current market out standards is already on the exiting route. Most private telecom operators currently rely on 4G networks for their services, and this has proven to be a good formula and path to follow. On the other hand, BSNL is already looking at local vendors for its tower and equipment needs for the next phase. Thus the NMP, coupled with an "Atmanirbhar" approach to the procurement of equipment, is going to be good in the long term for the public telecom company.

BSNL Fibre Optic Asset Monetisation

Lastly, the fibre optic reach of BSNL has been uncanny in the sense that it has truly revolutionised the field for consumers and companies alike. The monetisation of assets of fibre-optic cables laid across the country would allow the private players to better utilise this to give more services to the consumers with better offerings. The current competition in the field would also stop the prices from skyrocketing, in case BSNL is not present as an option in the list of broadband providers. Even now, BSNL's pricing of wired broadband services remains comparable to the private players. Hence, taking a non-myopic, long-term view of the divestment in the strategic sector, the monetisation of BSNL's assets would prove fruitful for the company.

Vodafone Idea Prepaid Plan That Jio, Airtel Cannot Compete With

Posted: 28 Aug 2021 06:34 PM PDT

Even though Vodafone Idea (Vi) isn't in the best position right now, there's no denying that the telco can have a future in India. It offers some of the best prepaid and postpaid plans to users in the country. In fact, there is a prepaid plan offered by the telco that neither Jio nor Airtel offers to its users. The prepaid plan that I am talking about comes with a validity of 84 days. No operator in India, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Reliance Jio, or Bharti Airtel, offers this 84 days plan to the users. Let's see which plan I am talking about.

Vodafone Idea 84 Days Prepaid Plan That No One Is Offering

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is offering users a Rs 699 prepaid plan to the users. In terms of 84 days plans, users can also opt for the Rs 698 plan from Airtel, but that wouldn't be a great deal against the Rs 699 plan from Vi. This is because Vodafone Idea offers exactly double data with its Rs 699 plan as compared to the Rs 698 plan from Bharti Airtel. With the Rs 699 plan from Vodafone Idea, users get 4GB of daily data along with 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. But that's not all. Users get much more with the Rs 699 plan from Vodafone Idea. This plan also brings users a free over-the-top (OTT) benefit of ZEE5 Premium and Vi Movies & TV. Further, users are entitled to receive the Binge all Night offer and Weekend Data Rollover offer from the company. In comparison to that, Airtel offers 2GB daily data along with unlimited voice calling and 100 SMS/day with Airtel Thanks benefits. Reliance Jio doesn't offer a 4GB daily data plan either, and its 2GB daily data plan comes for Rs 599, which is Rs 100 cheaper than Airtel's Rs 698 plan. The ZEE5 subscription offered to the users with the Vodafone Idea plan comes for 1 year. This is the plan that I was talking about, which none of the other companies offers. It is worth noting only Vodafone Idea offers users a 4GB daily data plan in India. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel offer users a maximum of 3GB daily data. The Binge All Night and Weekend Data Rollover offers are just bonuses offered to the users on top of all this data. Vodafone Idea can really make a difference with such plans in the Indian market. All that’s needed for the telco is to improve its coverage in the country.

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