Videocon Offering 4G Services At Rates Of 2G; To Roll Out In UP & Bihar

Lately telecom service providing companies have been concentrating on providing internet data plans at prices lower than ever. There are projects to even provide free internet access to the masses like Facebook’s internet.org. It has been launched in India in partnership with Reliance Telecom. BSNL too launched free WiFi services at ghats of Varanasi with an intent to penetrate into towns and villages. With similar plans, Videocon has plans to offer 4G data services at 2G/3G rates to encourage a fast adoption rate. Along with this, the telco is prepping up to offer bundled plans for smartphones.

According to the reports, Videocon is planning to invest a sum of INR 1,200 crores for 4G rollout in states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. There are three zones divided for the deployment of these services as UP(E), UP(W) and Bihar as a whole. Videocon will invest the amount by spreading it over a duration of three years. This 4G extension plan will be extended to about 29 cities. The phase I of the plan will extend to over 6 cities, phase II will cover 12 cities and phase III will include the rest.
For this plan, Videocon will continue to work with their existing technology partners Huawei and NSN and consulting partners Deloitte. The company has 5MHz spectrum in 1800MHz range for the sectors of UP and Bihar and it intends to dedicate the complete spectrum for 4G services. On account of this, Videocon is also trying to work on ICR (Intra Circle Roaming) arrangements with other telecom companies for providing 4G data. Such plans will bring in additional revenues in the house. These plans come after Videocon curbing its 4G plans on account of its poor acceptability.
According to the tech experts, 4G LTE FDD technology works very efficiently over 1800MHz band while accommodating large number of subscriber base and still ensuring good customer experience. This will add extra value to Videocon’s plans making it the first service provider to offer 4G LTE FDD services on 1800MHz spectrum in the country.
Reacting to the news, Videocon shares jumped in an otherwise sluggish market today, to see a trade up by 4 percent. Spectrum width of 5MHz is considered to be inadequate for providing both voice and data services. So Videocon’s decision of complete utilization of the spectrum for 4G deployment holds ground. Earlier it had upgraded its 2G networks to 2.75G Edge network but with these plans, the company is gearing up for the existing cutthroat competition in the market.