Reliance Jio fails to become 3rd 4G operator

Idea, the country’s third largest mobile operator by revenues and subscriber base, on Wednesday launched 4G services across 750 towns in the five southern states of Andhra Pradesh & Telengana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. With this Idea becomes the third operator, after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India to have started 4G services. This makes them ahead of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm in the race. In the first phase, the company’s 4G network will be available across 75 towns in southern India. The major towns to be covered are Kochi, Hosur, Kadapa, Malappuram, Madurai, Mysuru, Rajahmundry, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Vijayawada and Vishakhapatnam. Belgaum, Calicut, Cuddalore, Chitradurga, Guntur, Kakinada, Kancheepuram and Trichur will follow by December 31. Idea is also gearing to launch 4G LTE services by March 2016 in other key markets like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab, Haryana, Northeast and Odisha circles, in a phased manner. Idea Cellular currently holds 1800 MHz 4G spectrum in these 10 circles which cover 50 per cent of the telecom market but over 60 per cent of Idea’s gross revenue. As part of the plans, Idea Cellular is offering a free 4G SIM upgrade, and content such as movies, music and games content, apart from attractive subscription plans to gain new user and retain existing consumers. The company has also launched a trial pack in these towns for Rs29.