Prodded by Communications Minister Dayanadhi Maran a few months ago, the industry got together to look at ways so that at least two to six operators could use the same cell site to save infrastructure.
The experiment, started with 60 sites in Delhi, is being extended to Mumbai and other key cities in India.
Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel spokespersons declined to comment. An Idea Cellular spokesperson while confirming the development refused to make any comment.
There are over 70,000 cell sites all across the country. Reliance Communications has over 20,000 cell sites across the country and is planning to go for a massive expansion.
Bharti Airtel on the other hand has over 25,000 cell sites and plans to more than double the numbers by the end of this financial year.
Industry experts say that they expect about 25% to 35% of the cell sites to be shared across the country at least by two operators.
Experts argue that the cost savings both in terms of capex as well as operating costs can be substantial in the next one to two years.
Setting up of a cell sites requires an investment of around Rs 30 lakh, but operating costs could vary depending on the prevailing rents in cities from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per site.
