How Indian Railways has brought Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea ‘together’

Mobile operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have vehemently opposed allocation of premium 700 MHz spectrum to Indian Railways for specific services, citing commercial value of such radiowaves and the potential for 4Gand 5G offerings. The mobile telephony services industry — otherwise polarised over a range of issues — has spoken in one voice this time to assert that spectrum allotted to the Railways for captive use should not be utilised for commercial services for passengers (wi-fi and internet offerings) as such services should be provisioned by entities that hold a valid licence.

Reliance Jio said that the Railways should not be permitted to offer commercial services like wi-fi and voice and video communication, without obtaining authorisation under the Unified Licence.