Potential New Entrants:
In our assessment we found that new licensees are indeed serious about network roll-out, but a few may turn out to be spectrum traders. New entrants estimate that they could need ~US$4bn for a nation-wide GSM rollout even after allowing for tower-sharing. Companies are yet to buildup their management teams for large scale rollout, & funding plans are still being worked upon. Also, pending resolution of ongoing litigation in the sector, equipment vendors may be uncomfortable about committing resources to new entrants.
Tower Sharing:
For the time being, bargaining power on tower-sharing appears to rest with tenants & rental rates continue to fall. Despite deeper coverage, operator-led tower companies like Indus [airtel, Vodafone and Idea’s venture] will likely find it challenging to improve overall tenancy due to perception issues on neutrality, and execution bottlenecks in terms of siteavailability & site-suitability.
