Reliance Jio, Airtel may corner more market share at the cost of Vodafone Idea post auction: Analysts

Kolkata: Reliance Jio as the most aggressive bidder in the just-concluded 4G spectrum sale is likely to have closed the gap with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea on overall airwave holdings, analysts said. They added that auction could also lead to Jio and Airtel gaining more market share at the cost of Vodafone Idea.
Goldman Sachs expects “Jio to have largely closed its gap with Bharti and Vi on total spectrum,” though it said data carried on the Mukesh Ambani-led telco’s 4G network is almost 2 times that on Airtel’s, and accordingly, the latter’s spectrum holding still remains “materially higher vs Jio”.
They, in fact, expect both Jio and Airtel to further grow market share with their bolstered countrywide spectrum footprints, and see cash-strapped Vi, which was a marginal player in the latest spectrum sale, likely getting weaker.
Vi, which spent a modest Rs 1,993.40 crore in acquiring spectrum in 5 circles, is reckoned to have not renewed a sizable chunk of its expiring 1800 Mhz spectrum, which could hurt its future competitiveness unless it raises funds quickly to ramp up its 4G operations.