Today, I received an interesting map on email, which displayed state wise 3G spectrum winners. If you look at it closely then you will notice one simply fact about 3G coverage- network fragmentation. As I pointed out in earlier post that no single operator has won PAN India 3G spectrum, the auction has left 3G coverage areas more fragmented. It simply means that you will have to wait longer to get seamless 3G network from one single operator. What’s way out? If TRAI’s M&A recommendations are accepted then we will likely to see Vodafone/Airtel buying mid-size operators like Aircel/Idea to go for PAN India 3G spectrum. That sounds more reasonable than buying PAN India 3G spectrum; especially for operators like Airtel.
