Arun

thanks for the headsup Imran... yeah, its old news... But the following news is defenitely very recent and more staggering ! Deepak Sharma sends six lakh SMSes in month Express News Service Ludhiana, September 30, 2006 Says he and his wife remained busy sending messages from dawn to dusk, to stake claim for world record; ignored irritation of friends City resident, Deepak Sharma has made a record of sending more than six lakh text messages (SMS) in the span of one month. Feeling overjoyed he claimed, "I am the first person in the world to send so many text messages (SMS) in one month. Now I will send my claim to Guiness Book of Records." Before claiming the record, Deepak said he had already checked up Guiness Book of Records as well as Limca Book of Records and found that he had broken the record of another Indian for sending five lakh text messages in a month. He said, "I sent 6,38,431 text messages in one month, from July 26 to August 25 under Unlimited SMS Scheme of Airtel and company gave me the discount of Rs 1,278,120." Deepka runs a shop of mobile phones in Haibowal. He said, "My wife Shiwani also helped me a lot in sending these text messages. From dawn to dusk we kept sending text messages to friends, relatives and our customers. We also sent messages like 'send this SMS to nine people, otherwise you will be unlucky for some months'. Some of my friends used to feel irritated over such messages, but I just ignored their reaction and just remained focused on my aim of achieving the target of maximum text messages in the world in one month's time."

Cool ! And the Aish avatar is back too !

SIMPLY AMAZING MAN !!! heck, thats some serious dissembling research work that you have done on the Kyo ! I'm sending over my Kyo to Dr.Ashok soon !

As far as I know Aircel is available in Tamil Nadu (incl. Chennai), Assam, Orissa, West Bengal and J&K. I guess those are private Wimax networks for business establishments that they implemented outside Chennai.

182,689 SMSs per month ! thats staggering ! << Topic Moved to General Chat >>

Reliance Communications Press Release DAKC, Mumbai October 13, 2006 In a move that would benefit over 26 million customers of Reliance Communications, the company today announced the launch of Reliance STD Call that would enable Reliance Communications customers to make STD calls at Rs. 1 per minute. The new tariff would be applicable for all post paid and Pre paid customers of mobile and fixed wireless subscribers of the company. "Reliance Communications endeavors to provide the best value proposition to its customers at the most attractive tariffs. The launch of Reliance STD Card would enable our more than 2.6 crore subscribers to make long distance calls to any network in the country at Rs. 1 per minute", said Mr. S.P. Shukla, President - Personal Business, Reliance Communications. The new tariff is being introduced with a view to cater to heavy STD users and is applicable on Rs. 675 denomination calling card. With a flat call rate of Rs. 1 per minute the new card will offer 601 minutes that can be exhausted over a period of 30 days, and an additional 15 day roll over period. The 601 minutes can be used anytime anywhere to any phone in India by any subscriber of Reliance Communications - Pre-paid or post-paid, Mobile or Fixed. Please discuss here

whoa great ! man, I should have sent you my Kyo when it got the SRCP message earlier and saved me some bucks too bad that I will miss the meet though Hope you guys will have a bash !

The domain is: www.big927fm.com Judging from the careers page, it looks as the next cities/towns in line for the launch are: Chandigarh / Rajkot / Baroda / Bhopal / Kanpur / Allahabad / Bhubaneshwar / Guwahati / Mysore / Indore / Goa / Bikaner / Bareily / Hisar

New updated tracker file is available now. Last updated on October 4th, 2006 Download here

I just hope the government won't repeat the recent blogspot block saga with Orkut ! IMHO, Google cannot be held responsible here as they have clear Terms which says that they aren't responsible for any content posted by its users and any "hatred/violent" matter is prohibited. Since they cannot moderate those controversial topics as the user base is HUGE, they have to depend on its users to "report" them. It does get weary for the administrators when there are hundreds of such hatred topics/communities all over the place and people start reporting each other. Looks as though Google has started deleting certain topics from that community now.

TRAI recently formulated some benchmarks for broadband providers to stick with. The consumer has the right to complain to TRAI if the providers fail to meet them, and get refund as prescribed by TRAI. Read more here

For me... 1) LG RD 2030 - March 2003 - still working great ! 2) LG RD 2030 - don't know the date, but took during the Hungama offer - but its battery is damaged now 3) LG RD 5130 - about an year ago, with my Dad now 4) Kyocera 7135 - January 2006 - had the SRCP problem once, fixed it 5) Nokia 6235 - 4 months old - just a great handset to have 6) Waiting for a PDA (hope to import one - maybe Audivox 6600, or else will see if Reliance launches one)

Dhirubhai gave management a whole new 'ism' - Rediff.com A G Krishnamurthy in New Delhi | February 03, 2006 06:06 IST Dhirubhai Ambani was no ordinary leader. He was a man who gave management a whole new "ism". There is a new "ism" that I've been meaning to add to the vast world of words for quite a while now. Because, without exaggeration, it's a word for which no synonym can do full justice: "Dhirubhaism". Inspired by the truly phenomenal Dhirubhai H Ambani, it denotes a characteristic, tendency or syndrome as demonstrated by its inspirer. Dhirubhai, on his part, had he been around, would have laughed heartily and declared, "Small men like me don't inspire big words!" There you have it - now that is a classic Dhirubhaism, the tendency to disregard one's own invaluable contribution to society as significant. I'm sure everyone who knew Dhirubhai well will have his or her own little anecdote that illustrates his unique personality. He was a person whose heart and head both worked at peak efficiency levels, all the time. And that resulted in a truly unique and remarkable work philosophy, which is what I would like to define as Dhirubhaism. Let me explain this new "ism" with a few examples from my own experiences of working with him. Dhirubhaism No 1: Roll up your sleeves and help. You and your team share the same DNA. Reliance, during Vimal's heady days had organized a fashion show at the Convention Hall, at Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi. As usual, every seat in the hall was taken, and there were an equal number of impatient guests outside, waiting to be seated. I was of course completely besieged, trying to handle the ensuing confusion, chaos and protests, when to my amazement and relief, I saw Dhirubhai at the door trying to pacify the guests. Dhirubhai at that time was already a name to reckon with and a VIP himself, but that did not stop him from rolling up his sleeves and diving in to rescue a situation that had gone out of control. Most bosses in his place would have driven up in their swank cars at the last moment and given the manager a piece of their minds. Not Dhirubhai. When things went wrong, he was the first person to sense that the circumstances would have been beyond his team's control, rather than it being a slip on their part, as he trusted their capabilities implicitly. His first instinct was always to join his men in putting out the fire and not crucifying them for it. Sounds too good a boss to be true, doesn't he? But then, that was Dhirubhai. Dhirubhaism No 2: Be a safety net for your team. There used to be a time when our agency Mudra was the target of some extremely vicious propaganda by our peers, when on an almost daily basis my business ethics were put on trial. I, on my part, putting on a brave front, never raised this subject during any of my meetings with Dhirubhai. But one day, during a particularly nasty spell, he gently asked me if I needed any help in combating it. That did it. That was all the help that I needed. Overwhelmed by his concern and compassion, I told him I could cope, but the knowledge that he knew and cared for what I was going through, and that he was there for me if I ever needed him, worked wonders for my confidence. I went back a much taller man fully armed to face whatever came my way. By letting us know that he was always aware of the trials we underwent and that he was by our side through it all, he gave us the courage we never knew we had. Dhirubhaism No 3: The silent benefactor. This was another of his remarkable traits. When he helped someone, he never ever breathed a word about it to anyone else. There have been none among us who haven't known his kindness, yet he never went around broadcasting it. He never used charity as a platform to gain publicity. Sometimes, he would even go to the extent of not letting the recipient know who the donor was. Such was the extent of his generosity. "Expect the unexpected" just might have been coined for him. Dhirubhaism No 4: Dream big but dream with your eyes open. His phenomenal achievement showed India that limitations were only in the mind. And that nothing was truly unattainable for those who dreamed big. Whenever I tried to point out to him that a task seemed too big to be accomplished, he would reply: " No is no answer!" Not only did he dream big, he taught all of us to do so too. His one-line brief to me when we began Mudra was: "Make Vimal's advertising the benchmark for fashion advertising in the country." At that time, we were just a tiny, fledgling agency, tucked away in Ahmedabad, struggling to put a team in place. When we presented the seemingly insurmountable to him, his favourite response was always: "It's difficult but not impossible!" And he was right. We did go on to achieve the impossible. Both in its size and scope Vimal's fashion shows were unprecedented in the country. Grand showroom openings, stunning experiments in print and poster work all combined to give the brand a truly benchmark image. But way back in 1980, no one would have believed it could have ever been possible. Except Dhirubhai. But though he dreamed big, he was able to clearly distinguish between perception and reality and his favourite phrase "dream with your eyes open" underlined this. He never let preset norms govern his vision, yet he worked night and day familiarizing himself with every little nitty-gritty that constituted his dreams constantly sifting the wheat from the chaff. This is how, as he put it, even though he dreamed, none of his dreams turned into nightmares. And this is what gave him the courage to move from one orbit to the next despite tremendous odds. Dhirubhai was indeed a man of many parts, as is evident. I am sure there are many people who display some of the traits mentioned above, in their working styles as well, but Dhirubhai was one of those rare people who demonstrated all of them, all the time. And that's what made him such a phenomenal team builder and achiever. Yes, we all need "Dhirubhaisms" in our lives to remind us that if it was possible for one person to be all this and more, we too can. And like him, go on to achieve the impossible too.

Sunil Jain: Second thoughts on 3G Business Standard Sunil Jain / New Delhi - October 09, 2006 This is the ultimate irony. The country’s cellular mobile operators who’re arguing that 3G licences are not a new service, and therefore cannot be auctioned, are essentially relying upon a change in their licence conditions made at the time when Reliance and the Tatas gained a backdoor entry into the mobile telephony market in 2003. Something they objected to at that point of time! Under the original licence, the only mobile telephony that could be provided was a 2G one. It was only when the government decided to allow the fixed-line telecom providers to provide full-blown mobility using CDMA technology that the Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) dropped the term 2G and the scope got broadened to “provision of all types of access services”, which, you could argue, includes 3G services as well. Which is probably why when the Prime Minister’s Office asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for its view in December 2004, the DoT said that under the UASL, 3G services were part of 2G licences, and that the only issues that needed to be addressed related to the allocation of this 3G spectrum and the criterion for this. In other words, had the GSM cellular players (Hutch/Airtel, etc) got their way and stopped the CDMA-based Reliance/Tatas’ back-door entry in full-blown mobility, they wouldn’t have had a case for opposing the telecom regulator’s (Trai’s) recommendation that 3G services be considered a new service! But whether you agree that 3G spectrum needs to be bid for or that it should be given free like the 2G one, what’s troubling is that in a sector where most agree the regulatory system is the best, the regulator should do a complete U-turn on 3G policy. In May last year, the regulator was very clear that 3G was simply an extension of 2G and that it could not be priced. Today, the same regulator, with a new chief though, has no hesitation in saying 3G is a separate service, that while 2G is essentially about voice traffic, 3G is really about data. Trai has tried to justify this by saying there was a serious spectrum crunch in 2005 and, since it didn’t look as if any more 2G spectrum would be available soon, the 2005 recommendation on 3G was a response to this. That’s a feeble excuse since there has been little change in the spectrum position since May 2005. The proposal to get the defence forces to vacate an additional 25 MHz of 2G spectrum—this is enough to service around 50-60 mn new subscribers—in the 1,800 MHz frequency band, which is going to happen now, was first agreed to by a Group of Ministers in September 2003. And, in May 2005, Trai reiterated that this was to be made available by December of that year. It is equally unclear how Trai justifies its changed view on 2G spectrum. In May 2005, it said spectrum vacated by the defence should be given to the GSM firms; the current view is that GSM firms should vacate some spectrum in the 900 MHz band and this be given to the CDMA lot! Though this loss is to be made up in the 1,800 MHz spectrum, this will cut into the GSM lot’s fresh allocation since only 25 MHz is available. In other words, it will take a while before a genuinely robust regulatory mechanism that’s independent of personalities develops. That’s good or bad news, depending upon where you stand. Though sensible on the whole, Trai’s latest 3G recommendations still have some inconsistencies. First, the rollout obligations specified is a bad idea since the DoT has rolled these back in the past in other services like fixed-line and long-distance telephony. Second, the suggestion that CDMA players who want spectrum in the 800 MHz frequency match the bid of the second-bidder in the 2,100 MHz is unfair. If Reliance/Tata, the CDMA lot, want to offer 3G services in the 800MHz band why should they pay less than what Airtel/Hutch (the GSM lot) pay when they bid for spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band? The argument given is that, to do 3G services in the 800 MHz band, the CDMA lot will have to dedicate 1.25 MHz (called a “carrier” in jargon) to only data communication and so, if there aren’t enough 3G customers, this is a dead loss—the GSM lot, in contrast, can use their 3G spectrum to provide voice services to existing 2G subscribers as well. True, but the CDMA lot needs to buy less spectrum than the GSM lot, so they save there. While Trai has chosen not to disturb the existing practice of giving 2G spectrum free, it will have to apply its mind here eventually, since this prevents its proper utilisation. An example will make this clear. If Reliance or the Tatas want to do 3G CDMA services in the 800 MHz band, they have to buy one more “carrier” (by matching the second-bid in the 2,100 MHz band). They can, however, do this even today by releasing one of their existing “carriers” in this frequency band, but under the new 3G policy, they have to buy a new “carrier”. But if they buy a new “carrier” here, they cannot do 3G GSM (like Reliance is supposed to be inclined to do) in the 2,100 MHz band. This is illogical, but the reason for it is obvious—if the GSM firms have to pay for their 3G spectrum, why should the CDMA chaps get it for free? A fair enough point, but it ensures the economy’s making sub-optimal choices. The sooner the pricing of 2G spectrum is discussed, the better.

Glad you got it closing topic...

run this command as root: wvdialconf this command will write the port/modem value in wvdial.conf now add this information there: stupid mode = 1 Modem Type = Analog Modem Phone = #777 ISDN = 0 Username = your_mobile_no Password = your_mobile_no Baud= 115200 after entering the above settings, enter this command to connect: wvdial to disconnect dial: killall pppd I haven't tried ZTE card on Linux, but you can try and let us know (Thanks to cracker for the tips)

Yes, go for a Dual Core processor. Intel's Core 2 Duo is the buzz now.

You can Release and Renew the IP address from Command Prompt, to get a new IP address. For Releasing the current IP, use the command: ipconfig /release Then Renew the IP using the command: ipconfig /renew You can also try this which allows you to do it easily by executing a single file.

Telecos split over TRAI recommendations Tuesday, October 03, 2006 CIOL The base price for auction of 3G spectrum higher for telecos; GSM lobby unhappy with recommendations The GSM lobby seems to be unhappy with the 3G spectrum recommendations submitted by the Telecom regulator and sees it in favour of the CDMA operators. Bharti Airtel said that the reserve price quoted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) seemed to be very high for the operators. The base price for auctioning of spectrum for 3G services has been recommended at Rs 80 crore for Delhi and Mumbai, Rs 40 crore for Chennai and Kolkata and Rs 15 crore for other C category cities. “The reserved price however seems very high, even if we were to consider the limited available spectrum. For those interested in countrywide 3G licences, the reserved price would be more than Rs.1000 crores, which is a serious disincentive especially when it comes to rural penetration. We appeal to the DoT to review and seriously lower the threshold recommended,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement. Spice Telecom feels the base price for the spectrum quoted is “too high” for the operators. “If the price for allocation of spectrum is high, the cost of the service will also go to customers. We feel the base price is quite high for all the telecos,” H.N. Nanani, chief executive officer, Spice Communications said. He also said that Spice will be bidding for the 3G spectrum in Punjab and Karnataka. Spice has applied for a pan-India license this year. According to industry experts it is going to be a heated debate between the GSM operators, and the Government and the CDMA operators on the other side. “Trai had done a balancing act by announcing the auction of the 3G spectrum. If the regulator had recommended allocation of spectrum free, there would have been no solution on allocation. Currently the government can allocate spectrum only to five operators and it would have been impossible to select the lucky five,” telecom analysts say. Even though the regulator’s recommendations are considered ‘logically correct’, industry sources said that the recommendations have been in favour of the CDMA operators. The Ratan Tata and DoT spat over the spectrum allocation policy had landed in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) with DoT defending the policy in its report to the PMO. Tata was the only industry player who has proposed a charge for spectrum. In May 2005, he created a ripple in the industry by proposing a Rs 1,500 crore fee for 3G spectrum. Darryl Green, CEO- Tata Teleservices welcomed the Trai's recommendations. “We are happy that the regulator has maintained an evidently technology neutral approach. The recommendation on pricing and auction of spectrum clearly establishes that spectrum is recognized as a scarce resource and must be utilized efficiently,” Green said. He also said that the Trai's proposal on vacating spectrum to re-farm GSM operations and in the process allocate additional spectrum, in the 800MHz band, for CDMA players is a much needed and eagerly awaited solution. However, telecom major Reliance did not remain as a mere spectator on the debate on spectrum allocation. The Anil Ambani Dhirubhai group had suggested a hybrid model for 3G spectrum fee, according to which an entry fee of Rs 150 crore, Rs 100 crore and Rs 50 crore was proposed for Category A, B and C circles respectively, making it a total of Rs 300 crore if a player wants to offer 3G services Pan India. The two industry associations, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI) refused to comment on the recommendations and said that they would soon be coming up with suggestions on it. Meanwhile, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), which is offering its services in two metros, said that it would follow the DoT guidelines.

Reliance Communications seeking virtual networks ? 2006-10-03 21:24 Source : MoneyControl.com CNBC-TV18 has learnt that Ambani junior is evaluating the option of a virtual network, where Reliance provides mobile services without investing in networks or spectrum. But, as of now, this isn't allowed, reports CNBC-TV18. This will be an entry into a virgin territory for Reliance Communications. CNBC-TV18 learns that the company is evaluating the option of being a mobile virtual network operator or an MVNO like Virgin Mobile. An MVNO essentially offers telecom services without owning network infrastructure or spectrum. It involves a marketing and branding outfit, which buys airtime from an existing mobile operator and sells it to customers. It is important to note here that current regulations in India do not permit offering such services. But if the government has a change of heart, RCL is likely to benefit, as they will then not need to invest in a GSM network ahead of their proposed GSM foray. The company can then focus on just marketing and retailing. Incidentally, Reliance Communications isn't the only company dialing the MVNO route. The Modi group owned Spice Communications, which has applied for GSM spectrum in 21 circles also has similar plans. VC, Spice Communications, Dilip Modi said, 'We would want to do it through the MVNO route.' But regulatory clearance will hold the key to Anil Ambani's new strategy. If The DoT sticks to its current stand, Ambani's plans will meet the same fate as Richard Branson owned Virgin Mobile's India plans. CNBC-TV18 learns that the department is under pressure to have a re-look. In fact, The Investment Commission headed by Ratan Tata has recommended that MVNOs be allowed in India. This recommendation even has the backing of the Department of Economic Affairs. Telecom is increasingly becoming a commoditisied low margin play and with constant changes in technology, RCL may well want to put its money on talk time and not infrastructure. CNBC-TV18 also learns that RCL will be going in for a complete brand makeover. So watch out for a change in colours and maybe even the logo !

Trai website tinkered, hacker still at large Tuesday, October 03, 2006 at 0015 hours IST Financial Express NEW DELHI, OCT 2: The website of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has been hacked. A hacker (code-named - Pablin 77) broke through the administrative access to the regulator’s server on Saturday and tinkered with some of the links of the website. FE alerted Trai about the hacking on Monday. The hacker is still at large and the telecom regulator plans to lodge a FIR.Defacing of Indian websites is at an all time high right now, says a report by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) which tracks such incidents. About 1,311 Indian sites were defaced in July 2006 against only 151 in January this year. The recommendations and directions sections on the website (Trai.gov.in) when clicked, opened a window saying - “Pablin 77 was here.” Pablin 77 is an international hacker who targets only government websites. In the past, Pablin 77 had attacked the government websites of Uruguay, Germany, Holland, China, Ethiopia and most recently the website of the Republic of Philippines on September 24. Most of the links on the sites were changed to “h4x0r3d Pablin77 Was Here!!!” and the site was put offline. Pablin 77, however, is a low-profile hacker, said Captain Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group. “Top hackers figure in the age of 35-45 years and keep a very low profile. However, Pablin seems to gain monetary mileage by leaving his message,” he added. The attack could be serious because the server is based in Trai premises, said experts. “Through the malicious code the hacker could download a trojan on machines which could help gain access to sensitive Trai data,” said Srikiran Raghavan, regional head of RSA Security. “The attack on the Trai website clearly showed that adequate security measures were not in place. The site was attacked during the holiday season to prevent quick response and thus gain more publicity,” said Trend Micro’s country head Niraj Kaushik. The Trai website was redesigned by Delhi based Planet E-com Solutions just a few months back. Trai officials said that the site’s ‘press release’ section was hacked a few days before the 3G recommendations were announced. However, that was discovered and set right by the regulator. Who is Pablin 77 • Is an international hacker who targets only government websites • History Attacked the goverment websites of Uruguay, Germany, Holland, China, Ethiopia and most recently the website of the Philippines • Holiday time Site was attacked during the holiday season to prevent quick response

wow, fantastic man ! well done you really deserved it !

Financial Express New Delhi, September 22, 2006: Tired of carrying two cellphones? Don’t worry. You will soon be able to use both your business and personal mobile numbers from a single handset. To be launched in 2007, a dual number service will be available on a single SIM card. But both the connections will have to be from one service provider. The screen of a handset will display the receiver’s number and the caller's as well. Globally, T-Mobile in Germany and Vodafone and Telecom Italia in Italy offer this multi-line service. The UK’s Orange is also expected to launch the ‘dual number, single handset service’ in the next few months. In India, Ireland-based value-added services products company AePona is talking to operators like Bharti, BSNL, Reliance, Hutch and Idea to launch the service in the next 12 months. The service promises to enhance ARPUs (average revenue per user) and reduce customer churn significantly. It can also work for both pre-paid and post-paid numbers simultaneously. Nokia is also believed to have developed the application, which is in the testing phase. Alcatel has developed another kind of multi-line solution that allows a subscriber to shift between tariff plans, depending upon day- or night-use. Dual number use with two SIM cards, however, is widely in use. In this, a device called the dual SIM card adapter, which costs between $15-$60, can be inserted in a phone to hold two cards. But subscribers need to switch off their mobile phones to move from one number to another. This service has not been very popular amongst the 700-odd mobile operators the world over. They fear it can lead to a churn. There are also mobile phones like the Daewoo DX20, which can carry two SIM cards. “The dual number service, however, uses an application that's inserted in the network. So, when a call comes to either of the numbers, it is routed to the same SIM. The cost of deployment will be about $1-2 million for a small operator and will increase as the operator keeps on adding subscribers,” says AePona’s global VP marketing Michael Crossey.

Yahoo SMS Backup is a service for storing a virtually unlimited number of SMS messages online. If you're a mobile user, you can back up your text messages and retrieve them later in Yahoo! Mail. The messages are stored in a folder 'SMS Backup' created specifically for your backed-up SMS messages. Many mobile devices have limited storage capacity for saving messages. If you have been deleting important messages, use SMS Backup now to store your treasured SMS messages on Yahoo! Mail. Just forward an SMS message to 82438243. They will send registration instructions to your mobile phone. You must complete registration on a computer with an Internet connection. You can also register online by requesting a confirmation code to your mobile number. After registering, you can forward SMS messages to 82438243. Registering for this service is free. But there is cost per SMS which is charged by the operator as follows: Airtel, Idea, Aircel, Spice, RIM - Rs. 3 Hutch, BPL, Tata - Rs. 2 MTNL , BSNL - Re. 1 You cannot download back the SMS to your mobile phone. They are investing ways to include this feature in future versions of SMS Backup. Only SMS can be stored for now. Backed up SMS messages would also not have info about the original message (original sender info, date and time etc) because when you forward a message, it is treated as a new message and does not have the original info any more. They are exploring other ways to capture this information as well. Check out Yahoo! India SMS Backup !

Yes, Trai has recommended auctioning 200 MHz for Wimax. 3G spectrum auction with quota for CDMA Business Standard New Delhi September 28, 2006 A total 32.5 MHz will be available for 3G services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended auctioning radio frequencies for 3G (third-generation) telecom services at a reserve price of Rs 1,050 crore to companies seeking to offer nationwide high-speed Internet and streaming video. The base price for spectrum in cities like Mumbai and Delhi and Category A telecom circles is Rs 80 crore; in cities like Chennai and Kolkata and Category B circles Rs 40 crore; and in all other cities Rs 15 crore. The government will net at least Rs 6,000 crore in an auction that delinks spectrum allocation from the subscriber base of telecom companies. Spectrum will be allocated in three bands: 25 MHz will go to five operators — each requires 5 MHz to offer these services — in the 2.1 GHz band; 1.25 MHz each to the two CDMA operators in the 800 MHz band (there are only two CDMA players in most states, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices); and 5 MHz on the 450 MHz band to one CDMA operator. CDMA operators are free to bid both in the 2.1 GHz and the 450 MHz bands but they will be allocated spectrum only in one. Pricing of these two bands is linked to the auction in the 2.1 GHz band. CDMA operators will pay the same as the second-highest GSM bidder. And if there is more than one claimant in the 450 MHz band, the reserve price will be half of that arrived at in the 2.1 GHz band. Another rider is that if the highest bid is a quarter more than the lowest, the lowest bidder has to raise its bid to 75 per cent of the winning bid. “A total of 32.5 MHz was available for allocation within the next 6-9 months. We expect (3G) services to begin from June 2007,” Trai Chairman Nripendra Misra said while announcing the recommendations. He hoped that the allocated spectrum would be enough for the next two years and said Trai would recommend freeing up more spectrum for those who lose out in this auction. Trai has also recommended auctioning 200 MHz for broadband wireless access services like Wimax and has proposed a national frequency management board to oversee spectrum availability and its efficient use. The telecom industry is divided on the recommendations. “I had ideally expected the base price to be lower, but we can live with it,” said Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Airtel. “They are going back on what they said during the unified licence settlement: that 2G was an extension of 3G. The reserve price is absurd, and I cannot understand the logic of CDMA spectrum being priced lower than ours,” said the CEO of a rival GSM operator. “Trai’s recommendations are fair to all participants and are progressive. We are happy that the regulator has maintained an evidently technology-neutral approach,” said Darryl Green, CEO, Tata Teleservices. But there are problems CDMA operators may come up against. “Operating 3G services on 450 MHz is a problem because we do not have dual-band phones that work both in 450 MHz and in 800 MHz (the band in which CDMA operates in India),” an executive with a CDMA equipment company said.