In a report on the Indian Telecom sector, Credit Suisse has stated that with 70,000 plus sites live, it expects a soft launch of 4G services by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) by mid-July 2015, which would be earlier than the current market expectation.
According to the financial services consultancy firm, RJIL has a two-pronged strategy ? providing services for which the network channels are in place and the introduction of company-branded devices which are expected to be available in the market soon at the entry level prices of $30. Credit Suisse underlines that operators in India do not sell handsets and devices, there are separate distribution channels managed by handset original equipment manufacturers and specialist logistics companies that do the same. However, RJIL has adopted a different strategy and working on a dedicated handset distribution infrastructure given that having adequate 4G handsets supply is critical for their business. Further, Credit Suisse estimates that RJIL could be looking at selling two-third of all 4G smartphones sold in India through its own distribution network.
In a separate analysis about its first impressions on Bharti Airtel?s 4G launch in Mumbai, Credit Suisse has stated that while the indoor coverage was patchy, the outdoor signals on the street were quite strong, with an encouraging 35 Mbps download speed and 24 Mbps at the windows. Further, it underlined that Bharti Airtel clearly has the lead among incumbent operators when it comes to 4G deployments, and is probably best positioned to respond to expected RJIL launch. However, given the scale of investments, network capacity size, and differentiating investments made, even Bharti Airtel?s numbers could come under pressure in the next couple of years.
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