Reliance Communications and Reliance
Jio Infocomm are apparently all set to ink a pact that will enable the
latter company to offer 4G services over the 800 MHz band across 10
circles. News of the deal comes soon after the Union Cabinet allowed
sharing of airwaves between telcos.
Through the deal Mukesh Ambani-owned
Reliance Jio will have access to 10MHz of continuous 4G bandwidth in
Mumbai, UP-East, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Northeast,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Reliance Jio acquired 49 units in the
800MHz band across the 10 circles at Rs 7,876 crore. However, it has
continuous 800 MHz airwaves only in 4 out of the 10 circles whereas RCOM
has continuous bandwidth in all of them.
Neither company has officially confirmed the existence of the deal.
Conversion of non-continuous airwaves
in the 800MHz spectrum to continuous frequencies is critical for
Reliance Jio to deliver high-speed 4G LTE services. The 800 MHz spectrum
has historically been used for CDMA services.
Jio is trying to stitch together a 4G
network with higher frequencies in the 2300 MHz band which can’t
penetrate concrete walls, but the lower frequency 800 MHz band can. It’s
for this reason that the deal becomes so important for Reliance Jio to
roll out its 4G network.