Two Indian mobile operators, latest entrant Reliance Jio and larger rival Reliance Communications (RCom), have inked an intra-city optic fibre infrastructure sharing agreement.
Under the project, Jio will use RCom’s nationwide city fibre assets to…
Two Indian mobile operators, latest entrant Reliance Jio and larger rival Reliance Communications (RCom), have inked an intra-city optic fibre infrastructure sharing agreement.
Under the project, Jio will use RCom’s nationwide city fibre assets to roll out 4G services. The agreement is based on arm’s-length pricing, the companies said.
This is the third sharing agreement in just a year between the two operators, following an inter-city optic fibre sharing deal in April 2013 and a countrywide tower sharing pact in August last year.
The first tie-up also marked the end of a feud between Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire who owns Reliance Industries and its subsidiary Jio, and his brother Anil, who controls RCom.
During the 2014 frequency auction, Reliance Jio bid aggressively, pushing the prices up as it is looking to become a disruptive force in India’s crowded mobile market. The company paid US$1.7bn to secure 1,800 MHz spectrum across 14 of the 22 circles. It already owns spectrum in the 2,300 MHz band across India and plans to launch telecoms and TV services by the end of the year.
In recent weeks, Reliance Jio has signed another tower sharing agreements with two local towercos, Bharti Infratel and Viom Networks.
