GOVT MUST TAKE A NOTE OF OLIGOPOLY IN TELECOM SECTOR BEFORE IT BECOMES TOO LATE AS NOW ONLY THREE MAJOR PLAYERS ARE LEFT IN TELECOM SECTOR -RELIANCE JIO-AIRTEL AND VODAFONE IDEA

Airtel, Voda Idea, Jio skip applying to BBNL tender

Kolkata & New Delhi: 

India’s top three telecom companies Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio Infocomm have not applied for the government’s ambitious broadband programme to connect the country via Wi-Fi via a near Rs 10,000 crore tender for the countrywide rollout of 1.25 million WiFi hotspots across 2.5 lakh village blocks. 

The carriers, it is learnt, lost interest as they did not see much of a business sense amid a muddle regarding the overall scope of the tender document and its technical specifications, senior industry executives told ET. 

The tender had been floated by state-owned Bharat Broadband Networks Ltd (BBNL), tasked with driving the national broadband venture, BharatNet. 

“On paper, BBNL’s tender document says an implementing agency can offer last-mile connectivity across 2.5 lakh village panchayats (or blocks) either through public WiFi access points or any other suitable broadband technology, but technical technical specifications suggest deployment must be through WiFi access points only,” a senior telco executive told ET. 

It was an ambitious government plan of giving public WiFi a big push ahead of next year’s general election, but with only state-run MTNL, ITI, Telecom Consultants India (TCIL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL) putting in bids, the government’s aim to have 1.25 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the country by March 2019 could be a non-starter. Telecom companies had specifically sought clarification from BBNL on this issue and had even suggested that “use of mobile broadband technology be clearly incorporated as a second option in the tender, especially since most Indians “use smartphones as their primary device to access the internet.” 

“In today’s day and age, the government should leave it to the service provider to decide on the technology option, especially when 4G can be a much better option for last mile connectivity at the village panchayat level,” said a senior Jio executive, who did not wish to be identified. 

At press time, Bharti Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea did not reply to ET’s emailed queries for this story. 

A senior BBNL official, though, denied there are inconsistencies in the scope of the WiFi tender or its technical specifications. “There is enough clarity in the tender document and contentions at the telco level appear purely a matter of interpretation, based on which, they have not participated in the bidding process.” 

There were several clauses in the BBNL tender relating to WiFi technology, he said, that “were deleted after telecom service providers voiced their concerns, and other changes were made through amendments to make the tender technology-neutral in accordance with the Cabinet decision.” 

Telcos are also at odds with the government on rolling out WiFi access points to boost internet penetration in the light of its much weaker coverage capabilities compared to 4G mobile base stations. More so since a WiFi-based deployment would require a telco to put up a far larger number of such access points in each village block to offer internet coverage comparable with 4G mobile base stations. 

Another reason behind low telco appetite is the strong possibility of WiFi hotspots getting stolen as they are merely 5-10 metres high unlike a mobile BTS which is typically 30-to-40 metres high and hence difficult to pilfer, said industry executives, besides maintenance and ensuring uninterrupted power to these hotspots which would entail additional business challenges. 

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