We all know that the year 2016 will be the year ofLTE in India. Apart from Airtel, who started 4G services back in 2012,wewill see several players to jumping onto the4G services bandwagonin India this year. Idea and Vodafone have already launched their 4G services in selected markets. Jio, the telecom arm of Reliance Industries, will launch its commercial serviceanytime soon.Idea Cellular:Lets start with Idea Cellularbydiscussing its 3G as well as4G spectrum. Idea won 2.1GHz spectrum in 11 circles in 2010, and those airwaves wereused for 3G services. In 2015 auction, Idea grabbed a chunk of 5MHz spectrum on 2.1GHz band in Kolkata and 900MHz spectrum in Delhi.In Delhi, Idea launched UMTS900 i.e. 3G services over 900MHz band (similar to Airtels Platinum 3G).It should be noted that Idea Cellular has almost pan-India 3G presence via ICRA route throughAirtel and Vodafones 3G networks.Idea 3G MapIdea 3G MapIn pasttwo years, Idea kept defending itself by sayingthat Indias telecom market isnt ready for 4G/LTE services. However, sensing the threat from Reliance Jios entry into 4G turf, Idea started rolling out 4G services in selected circles using its technology-neutral 1.8GHz band.In November 2015, Idea acquired spectrum in two more circles (Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh-West) from Videocon. Right now, Idea is capable of rolling out LTE-FDD on 1800MHz band in a total of 12 circles.It should be noted that Idea did not win any of 2.3GHz band in the year 2010.Idea 4G LTE liberalised Spectrum detailsIdea 4G LTE liberalised Spectrum detailsIn three circles Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (East), and Mumbai Idea has less than 5MHz of spectrum, which can be used forNarrow-Band LTEdeployment, but NB-LTE doesnt make sense in Mumbai due to large population.From the chart above, its clear that Idea has some circles with more than 5 MHz spectrum whichwerewon in 2012. However,there islack oftransparencyifthis spectrum is tech-neutral ornot. So,Idea has stayed away fromrolling out 4G in these circles (Kolkata, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, and Assam).Otherwise, Idea canserve16 circles with LTE-FDD.World widenarrow-band LTEis getting importance as it can be deployed with just 200MHz chunk of air space. Experts believe thatNB-LTE can be a game changer for IoT (Internet of Things). However, LTE-NB is not suitable enough for general data servicesin India.Idea 4G LTE MapIdea 4G LTE MapVodafone IndiaVodafone India has always been cautious about the amount of money being spent on useless stuff and they invest money in a very planned manner. In 2010, Vodafone invested for 3G spectrum only in 9 circles and opted for Intra-Circle Roaming Agreement (ICRA) to go pan-India throughIdea and Airtels networks.In 2015, Vodafone invested in five morecircles to acquire 3G spectrum. Itdid not receiveany spectrum in 2010onthe2300MHz band. However, they won technology-neutral spectrum overthe1800MHz band, which supports LTE-FDD. With this, Vodafone will be engaged into the war againstReliance Jio.Vodafone seems to be seeing 4G as a business case in India, and hence they are in talks with Tikona to buy the latters 20MHz of spectrum in 5 circles over the 2.3GHz band.Vodafone India Liberalised spectrum details*TheTikona-Vodafonemerger is yet to happen as of now.AirtelIndias largest mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, has a huge spectrum bank across many bands except the 800MHz band.Initially, Airtel had a spectrum on 2300MHz band in 4 circles (Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab, and Maharashtra). Later, they acquired four Qualcomm circles Delhi, Mumbai, Kerala and Haryana and it recently acquired one circle from Augere in Madhya Pradesh. Airtel is rolling out LTE-TDD in these circles.In 2014 and 2015, Airtel bagged some tech-neutral spectrum on the 1800MHz band, which is being used for both 2G mobility as well as LTE-FDD services. Airtel has now launched LTE-FDD in some circles Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu &Chennai, North East, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, and Rajasthan.Airtelliberalisedspectrum detailsOn the 3G turf, Airtel has its own 3G/HSPA network in thirteencircles. In 2015, Airtel bagged sixadditionalcircles and introduced Platinum 3G (over 900MHz band) in Mumbaiand Kolkata. In Mumbai, Airtel has dual 3G network.Airtel 3G Map IndiaAirtel 3G MapReliance JioJio, Reliance Industries telecom brand, is robustly shaped with its spectrum bank. The company is yet to launch its commercial services, but it has already invested some thousand crore rupees to make everything right before the launch.Here areReliance Jios spectrum ownership detailsJio has at least 5MHz in the 1800MHz band in most circles where itplans to roll out LTE-FDD. Ithas plans to roll out LTE-TDD over its 20MHz continuous spectrum in 2300MHz band in all the circles. Jio strategically bagged 800MHz spectrum in selected circles like Jio has 5MHz in all