The Spectrum Tussle - Cdma V Gsm

[kesav 127]

Bharti Airtel gets additional spectrum in five circles

Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said the government has allotted additional spectrum to the company in five telecom circles in the country.

The five circles are West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (west), Assam and Haryana.

"We have received a formal communication from the Department of Telecom (DoT) for the allotment of additional spectrum to the company in five circles," Bharti Airtel President and CEO Manoj Kohli told reporters in New Delhi.

The company had applied for additional spectrum in 10 telecom circles across the country. The other circles, where the company is still awaiting the allotment of additional spectrum are Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

Kohli said they are expecting to get additional spectrum in the rest of five circles in a couple of months.

source :: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/St...in+five+circles

Finally Airtel has something to cheer about.....

[kesav 127]

RCom gets nod for CDMA service in Assam, NE

NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications is all set to be an all-India Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mobile telephony player.

During an analyst meet on Thursday, after announcing the third quarter financial results, RCom chairman Anil Ambani said that the company had just got the government approval to start CDMA service in the remaining circles of Assam and North-East.

Currently, RCom operates CDMA service across the country (in 21 circles) barring Assam and North-East. Ambani also said that RCom would get a refund of around Rs 112 crore from the Department of Telecom (DoT) soon, as the company had paid in excess for licences to start GSM services.

Although the group’s Reliance Telecom runs GSM service in eight circles, it had recently paid Rs 1,650 crore for operating GSM across the country. Rs 1,650 crore is the licence fee for all-India service under the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL).

While stating that the company’s nationwide GSM rollout would take off within a year, Ambani gave a capex estimate of $6 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) for the financial year ending March 2009. For the current financial year ending March 2008, the revised capex figure is around $5 billion.

On sharing of its tower infrastructure with other players, Ambani indicated that some agreements are expected soon with “the newer entrants”. DoT had recently issued 121 letters of intent (LoIs) to a total of nine (new and existing) telcos.

Meanwhile, Ambani reiterated that existing GSM players have extra spectrum, but declined to comment more on that as the issue is sub judice. When CDMA major RCom was allowed to operate GSM services under dual technology recently, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) representing GSM players had moved court.

“All telecom operators will like to get as much spectrum as they can. And, we are no different,” he added.

source :: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1148516

[kesav 127]

DoT: Details of 2G spectrum availability can not be made public

A senior DoT official is reported to have stated that details of 2G spectrum availability can not be made public. This is looked upon as another confrontation between DoT and the regulator Trai, since the latter had recommended publication of details of spectrum available for commercial use. DoT argues that such information cannot be made public since spectrum is also used by security agencies.

Industry players maintain that the DoT should adopt a more transparent mode of sharing information. They cite that globally government agencies share such information in advance.

source :: http://www.telecomtiger.com/fullstory.aspx?storyid=602

[kesav 127]

TDSAT refuses to stay spectrum allocation exercise

NEW DELHI: Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday refused to entertain a plea by GSM operator Idea Cellular to stay the process of spectrum allocation to new applicants.

The tribunal also rejected the Aditya Birla group controlled firm's request to put a hold on the process of allotment of Unified Access Service licenses to nine firms, which have been issued Letters of Intent, till the next hearing on the spectrum issue.

During the proceedings, Idea Cellular's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi contended that in view of the submission made by the Solicitor General on January 31, the tribunal should stay the processing of LoIs.

This was objected to by Sanjay Hegde, counsel appearing for Department of Telecom, saying that the process has started and the government had already processed more than half of the applications for telecom licenses.

Agreeing with Hegde's submission, TDSAT chairman Justice Arun Kumar declined to pass an interim order and said: "I am satisfied with that."

Meanwhile, the TDSAT also issued notices to the DoT and TRAI on Idea application and directed them to submit their reply.

On January 31, DoT had submitted before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that it would start issuing licences to all nine firms that were given LoIs on January 10.

source :: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_b...how/2761791.cms

[kesav 127]

NSA to clear spectrum jam

NEW DELHI: The country's national security adviser M K Narayanan has been asked to step in to resolve the spectrum controversy, a signal of existing complexities as well as the growing significance of an early resolution.

According to DoT (Department of Telecom) sources, Narayanan has convened a meeting of all relevant ministries and senior officials on 20 February to discuss the spectrum issue.

The telecom ministry, telecom regulator TRAI, existing telecom operators and new entrants to the sector are presently plunged in confusion over how much spectrum will be available and when. This meeting is critical as large parts of 2G and almost all 3G spectrum remains in the possession of the defence ministry. Its objective is to lay out a roadmap for vacation of spectrum to be made available in the hands of DoT's Wireless Planning Cell (WPC) for allocation to mobile operators.

Once this happens, existing operators like Bharti, Vodafone and Idea will step in to stake their claim for incremental spectrum, followed by Reliance, Tatas and nine new LoI (letter of intent) holders some of whom are betting on bagging precious pan-India GSM spectrum.

Spectrum allocation has been mired in controversy ever since telecom minister, A Raja took office in mid 2007. For starters, the ministry refused to subject the allocation process to an open, transparent auction.

Both availability of spectrum and the priority for allocation of spectrum to new entrants, which should be transparent and consensual, became a closely guarded secret at the DoT.

Several criteria have been thrown up in the last three months, none of which seems workable. Operators have filed multiple court cases in the Delhi High Court, TDSAT and even Supreme Court relating to availability, procedure and pricing of spectrum. Narayanan will address the issue in this backdrop of a crippling policy crisis.

The defence ministry is in no hurry to vacate spectrum for commercial purposes as it is bargaining for a terrestrial network costing thousands of crores to be handed over to it by DoT before it considers such a move.

DoT sources rule out any fresh availability of 2G spectrum before April 2008, with 3G spectrum to be delayed even further.

This means 3G auctions cannot be held before October/November this year.

source :: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Busines...how/2762790.cms

I sincerely expect Mr. Narayanan to show some way out this deep lurch.

Edited February 7, 2008 by kesav

[KumaarShah 143]

DoT backs 2G spectrum auction

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI:

Now, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is willing to try out auctions, but only for allocation of additional chunks of spectrum to existing players.

It still wants to stick to the traditional, administrative method for allocating the initial chunk of spectrum that an operator would get along with the operating licence.

DoT has, for the first time, indicated that it is open to the idea of auctioning of second-generation (2G) radio frequencies, also known as spectrum. At present, all mobile services in India work on 2G frequencies.

DoT, in a communication to the finance ministry, has said it was exploring the auction route only for additional spectrum allotment to existing operators.

In its letter, a copy of which is available with ET, DoT has ruled out any move to auction start-up spectrum and has warned that any such step would make mobile services unaffordable to the masses and derail national rural telecom penetration targets.

At present, GSM and CDMA operators get 4.4 MHz and 2.5 MHz of start-up radio frequencies per circle to launch operations. Spectrum comes bundled with the licence of telecom companies, this means on paying an entry fee of Rs 1,651 crore, a GSM player becomes entitled to 4.4 MHz of start-up spectrum across all circles.

Additional spectrum is allotted on both platforms in a phased manner, based on the addition in subscription numbers. India’s telecom policy entitles GSM players to get a maximum of 15 MHz per circle while CDMA players can get up to 7.5 MHz.

DoT has sought the finance ministry’s go-ahead for constituting a expert panel to design an appropriate auction mechanism for spectrum allocation.

“Designing of an appropriate auction mechanism would require extensive analysis, for which a committee of experts may need from six months to a year’s time. Such a committee can be constituted if so decided,” DoT's wireless advisor PK Garg said in his communication to Union finance secretary D Subba Rao.

Finance ministry officials confirmed they had received the DoT communication, but refused to comment on the development.

Explaining the logic for auctioning only the additional spectrum and not start-up radio frequencies, the DoT communication said, “Auction of 2G spectrum at the initial level may not be possible as licence conditions provide for allotment of GSM spectrum up to 6.2 MHz. But there is a suggestion to treat 6.2-MHz GSM spectrum as ‘threshold’ and allot spectrum beyond this (6.2 MHz) through auction. But this would amount to a change in existing guidelines and appropriate amendments would be necessary after this approach is approved in-principle.”

DoT said it was not in favour of the auction route for allotment of start-up spectrum to new entrants like Reliance Communications and Tata Tele that are planning to offer GSM-based services.

“Considering that allotment of initial spectrum is linked with the telecom service licence for which an operator pays an entry fee, auction of such initial spectrum is not feasible. Spectrum auctions can result in higher tariffs which would stifle growth of mobile telephone services in rural areas. This would go against the objectives of NTP-99 and make achievement of DoT’s targets difficult,” Mr Garg’s letter said.

The finance and law ministries have repeatedly called for auction of 2G spectrum to both new entrants and also to existing operators that require additional frequencies for expanding their services. So far, the communications ministry has turned down these demands and had maintained that no form of auction would be possible due to legal barriers.

DoT, in its January 29 communication, has pointed out that the auction of start-up spectrum was not feasible as the spectrum availability was not uniform across the country.

“At present, spectrum availability is neither clear nor contiguous because of other usages, especially the defence usages in these bands. Within a mobile service area, different frequencies are allotted for different districts. At times, less than the minimum initial spectrum is allotted depending on availability. Without clear and contiguous spectrum availability, auctions are neither feasible nor would they fetch real value,” it added.

Link http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...406,curpg-2.cms

[kesav 127]

CVC favours taking back extra spectrum from GSM operators

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is reportedly in favour of taking back the additional spectrum held by incumbent GSM operators and has asked DoT to explain the reasons for allocating extra spectrum to such operators.

Reports state that the CVC was not convinced by DoT’s presentation made before it to explain the logic behind allocation of additional spectrum.

“When in the licence agreements it was written that the operators would be provided a cumulative maximum spectrum of 6.2 MHz, then under what circumstances did DoT permit higher quantum of spectrum?" CVC has asked the DoT.

CVC has also asked DoT as to why additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz was not auctioned as this has resulted a huge financial loss to the exchequer.

source :: http://www.telecomtiger.com/fullstory.aspx?storyid=682

Finally somebody in Govt. is thinking rationally.

[kesav 127]

Spectrum to be given against all LoIs, govt tells TDSAT

New Delhi (PTI) The government on Tuesday submitted before telecom tribunal TDSAT that it would allot spectrum to all players which have received Letters of Intent for starting telephone services, but a lot depends on defence services vacating radio frequencies for civilian use.

Appearing for Department of Telecom (DoT), Additional Solicitor General Vikas Singh informed TDSAT that the government would allot spectrum to all operators which had applied by September 25.

"We would (government) allot spectrum to everyone who have applied by that day," ASG said during a proceeding before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal on a case filed by GSM operator IDEA and Spice to stay the spectrum allocation process.

Singh also informed that if the defence forces vacate the spectrum in one go, then there would be no problem. "However, if they release it step by step, then there would be some problem and some would have to wait," submitted the ASG.

He also informed the tribunal that in some areas there are problems as the spectrum would not be adequate, but the government would resolve the same.

"Only in some areas there would be problem. That would be worked out very soon. We would take some steps which would be equitable to all," the ASG, adding that DoT would file a brief reply after a week as it would wait for the outcome of a meeting between National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and operators engaged in legal battle against the government.

The meeting is scheduled for February 20.

source :: http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200802121552.htm

Now all have to wait for Feb 20

[@ksh@T 20]

Defence may soon release spectrum: Telecom Secretary

BARCELONA: The Communications Ministry is hopeful of soon hearing from the Ministry of Defence on release of spectrum for allocation to new operators, some of whom are waiting since December 2006.

"We are in touch with the Ministry of Defence... as soon as adequate spectrum is vacated we shall simultaneously distribute to new players," Telecom Secretary Sidharth Behura said on the sidelines of GSM World Congress here.

Asked how much spectrum was expected to be vacated by the Ministry of Defence and how many players would be accommodated, Behura said "we shall try to accommodate all of them.

"...But one thing is very clear that we are not going to starve the defence from spectrum they are using, so whatever can be vacated without hurting their operations we will get," he said.

He also indicated that if extra spectrum was available after meeting the demands of applicants till September 25, 2007, then firms who applied after September 25 would be considered.

In all, nine firms that applied till September 25 have been alloted Letters of Intent (LoIs). The companies include Shyam Telelink, Unitech Developers, Datacom, Swan Telecom, along with Tata Teleservices under the clause of dual technology.

About the project cost to meet Ministry of Defence's requirement to vacate spectrum, Behura said state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has been working very fast to complete the project. Already Rs 260 crore have been spent and in total about Rs 500 crore would be invested.

This would take care of the Airforce segment, while army and navy are yet to firm up their plans, officials said, adding that as and when they convey their plans, BSNL would implement them at the earliest.

Asked whether by month end the new players would be getting spectrum, Behura said a definitive reply can be given only after hearing from the Ministry of Defence.

[KumaarShah 143]

No excess allocation to GSM players, says DoT

13 Feb, 2008, 0900 hrs IST,Niranjan Bharati & Joji Thomas Philip, TNN

NEW DELHI: In a major blow to CDMA players, the department of telecom has told the Central Vigilance Commission and lawmakers separately that it has not allocated excess spectrum to any GSM operator and dismissed allegations that the operators were hoarding spectrum.

While the CVC had sought an explanation from DoT for allocating spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz per circle to GSM players, several MPs and party leaders had written to the PM, seeking his intervention in the process of spectrum allocation.

For instance, TDP president Chandrababu Naidu, in a letter written to the PMO in December, had alleged that the existing spectrum allocation policy was flawed and were "skewed" in favour of certain players. The letter endorsed the CDMA players' stance that GSM players be mandated to return the 'excess' spectrum they held. CDMA players had been demanding GSM operators must be forced to return what they termed as excess spectrum as their licenses entitled them to only 6.2 MHz of radio frequencies per circle.

Virtually endorsing the stance of GSM players, which have maintained that they were entitled up to a maximum of 15 Mhz, DoT, in its reply to a communication from Mr Naidu, denied excess allocation to any player. And in its presentation to the CVC, DoT pointed out that the 'criteria for allocation for up to 10 MHz was evolved in 2003 by a committee of government and private members and it was implemented after approval of the minister for communications and IT.

The DoT also pointed out to the CVC that policy announcements in March 2006 and Trai's recommendations in August 2007 both entitled GSM operators to get up to 15 MHz of second generation per circle, subject to achieving the pre-defined subscriber targets. DoT has also told the CVC that initially GSM players were given only 4.4 Mhz per circle, but "with increasing number of subscribers, additional spectrum was required to meet the growth, even with utilisation of spectrum efficiency features".

Dismissing the CVC's charge that communication ministry's spectrum policy had led to losses to the government, the DoT said that revenues from spectrum had increased from Rs 25 crore in 1997-98 to Rs 2,000 crore in 2006-07.

Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/2777824.cms

Isn't the above stand of DOT ridiculous? The GSM gangsters themselves agreed that they have excess spectrum sometime back and were willing to surrender it in some circles also.

Edited February 13, 2008 by KumaarShah

[Honest 836]

^^^

@KumaarShah

Yes my dear friend its total ridiculous. Very soon these existing GSM gangsters are going to be nuts.

Regards.

[@ksh@T 20]

DoT plans to hike spectrum fees

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom (DoT), after consultations with the finance ministry, is planning to hike spectrum fees. It plans to change spectrum usage charges levied on telecom companies (telcos) to a fixed percentage of revenues for each category of circles (licensed service areas congruent with metros and states in the case of the major states).

At present, the percentage of revenues payable as spectrum usage charges varies with the quantum of spectrum allotted to a telco, regardless of the category of circle in which the telco operates. The basis for allocation of spectrum would continue to be the number of subscribers accumulated by a telco. The move is expected to hike the government’s collection from spectrum fees by about Rs 1,100 crore.

DoT wants spectrum usage charges to be based on the licence fee model, where telcos pay a stipulated share of the revenue based on the circle of operation. Telcos pay 10% of their revenues as licence fee in metros and category ‘A’ circles, 8% in category ‘B’ and 6% in category ‘C’ circles.

“It is proposed that the categorisation used for licence fee may be used for spectrum charges also and to levy a spectrum charge of 8% of the revenues for Metros and category ‘A’ circles, 6% for category ‘B’ and 4% for category ‘C’ service areas irrespective of allotment of quantum of spectrum,” said a DoT internal note, which was prepared after consultations with the Finmin. “With the above formulation, it is envisaged that revenue from spectrum for the year 2008-09 may be about Rs 3,600 crore against Rs 2,500 crore as per the existing policy,” the DoT note added.

At present, if a service provider has 4.4 MHz of spectrum in any circle, the operator must share 2% of their revenues with the government towards spectrum usage charges. For 6.2 MHz of radio frequencies, the spectrum charge is 3% of the total revenues, for 8 MHz and 10 MHz it is 4% and for 12.5 MHz it is 5%. In case any telco gets 15 MHz of radio frequency per circle, it must pay 6% of its revenues towards spectrum charges.

In August 2007, sector regulator Trai had proposed that spectrum charges be increased to 5% of the total revenues for up to 10 MHz of radio frequencies, 6% for 12.5 MHz, 7% for 15 MHz and 8% for if an operator held more than 15 MHz in any circle. This DoT proposal to change the entire model based on the circle of operation, rather then the quantum of spectrum allotted, is seen as yet another deviation from the recommendations of the regulator.

Trai had also proposed that telcos be subject to a one-time entry fee for allocatio of radio frequencies beyond 10 MHz. As reported by ET on Thursday, the DoT and Finmin have worked out an alternate proposal to levy a one-time entry fee for all spectrum allocations beyond 6.2 MHz per circle.

This one time fee will be based on the market valuation of spectrum and will be in addition to the spectrum usage charges. The proposal also adds that existing operators who hold spectrum in excess of 6.2 MHz will also be subject to this onetime fee retrospectively.

[kesav 127]

Govt to seek SGI word on 2G spectrum auction

New Delhi, Feb 19 The finance ministry and the department of telecommunications (DoT) have decided to refer the matter whether the scarce 2G spectrum should be auctioned or not to the solicitor general of India (SGI).

The brief for the SGI would be to examine whether or not mobile operators are entitled to spectrum beyond the start-up 4.4 Mhz and also look into the legality of auction of spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz to 6.2 Mhz and beyond.

The decision was taken at a recent meeting. While the finance ministry has been pressing for a spectrum auction, seeing the revenue potential, DoT has been citing legal problems.

DoT has strongly pointed out to the finance ministry that due to the scarcity of spectrum and limited competition, auctioning is an unviable method. A technical problem arises since 2G band allocations have not so far been done through auctions, and allocations have been done at different dates and rates to the service providers, deciding a cut-off date from which spectrum would be auctioned would be difficult.

Another problem put forward by DoT was that since the licence conditions provide for spectrum allocation of up to 6.2 Mhz, so rather than opting for the auction route at an initial level, the 6.2 Mhz spectrum allotted to the GSM players might be treated as ‘threshold’ point. Subsequent spectrum allocation can follow the auction mode. However, this would require changes in the existing guidelines.

Even if this methodology is adopted, since only a limited number of bidders will be eligible, the auction may not get the real market value of the spectrum.

Even the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which has recommended auction of 3G and wireless broadband spectrum has cited legal problems in taking the auction route for 2G spectrum.

source :: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Govt-...auction/274863/

[kesav 127]

Telcos can now share their active infrastructure

NEW DELHI: The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved industry regulator Trai’s recommendations to allow service providers share active infrastructure. The move will help telcos to lower tariffs and reduce their expenditure by well over 50%.

At present, Indian telecos are permitted to share only passive infrastructure like towers, repeaters, shelters and generators. Sharing of active infrastructure will allow operators to share key electronic components such as antennas, feeder cables, nodes, radio access network, transmission systems and backhaul.

The change in the policy implies that new entrants who are allotted spectrum can completely ride on the infrastructure of existing players and launch services within a short span. The entry of these new players is also likely to trigger a tariff war, which can result in a further reduction of call rates. Subscribers in India already enjoy the lowest cellular tariffs across the world.

Active infrastructure sharing will play a major role in expediting the rollout of mobile network across the country, especially in rural India. Rural rollouts carry a higher operation expenditure. The telecom department has now sought an endorsement from the Telecom Commission, is the apex decision making body, for the proposal. Active infrastructure sharing will become a policy only after clearance from the telecom panel, which is expected soon.

Telcos have been seeking the government’s permission for sharing active infrastructure. During a recent meeting on the scrapping of the access deficit charge, several telcos had pointed out that they would pass on the cost benefits due to active infrastructure sharing to their customers.

Apart from savings on operational costs and capital investment, the move will enable operators provide mobile services to their subscribers wherever their own network signal is not available. It will also help them increase their coverage area and improve quality of service with almost no additional expenditure.

“Based on mutual agreement, service providers may have active infrastructure sharing limited to antenna, feeder cable, Node B, radio access networks and transmission system, but sharing of allocated spectrum is not possible. DoT will be amending the licence conditions of UASL/CMTS (unified access service licence and cellular mobile telephone service.

Details of the active infrastructure sharing will be put on the web by service providers,” DoT wrote to the Telecom Commission on February 14. The note said DoT has accepted Trai’s recommendations on active infrastructure “with a different approach”.

DoT has also accepted Trai’s proposal that there will be no mandated sharing of infrastructure. But the entire process will be transparent and non-discriminatory, it said. The mode of commercial agreement has been left to the telecom service providers.

Trai had recommended for an amendment in the licence conditions to allow service providers to share their backhaul from base trans-receiver station (BTS) to base station controller (BSC). It has noted that such a sharing is permitted on optical fibre as well as radio medium at certain ‘nodes’.

DoT, in its note to the Telecom Commission, has added that no such amendment was required as the licence conditions already allowed operators to share backhaul from BTS and BSC. “For this, there is no need to amend licensing conditions of UASL clause number 33 (ii) and CMTS clause number 34 (ii). However, no sharing of spectrum at access network side is permitted,” the DoT communique said.

source :: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_b...how/2799473.cms

This is a welcome move by DoT

[kesav 127]

Bharti open to sharing active infra: Mittal

Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Airtel, today said the company is open to sharing active infrastructure such as antennas, transmission systems and feeder cables with other mobile operators.

"We are open to sharing active infrastructure with other mobile operators - even with new companies," Mittal said today.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had, last year, recommended sharing of active infrastructure among all operators. This recommendation, if accepted by the department of telecommunications (DoT), would reduce expenditure for all companies and may also lead to further lowering of tariffs.

It would also benefit new entrants in the mobile space by enabling them to share infrastructure of the existing operators.

DoT recently issued letters of intent to nine firms including Unitech, Datacom, Shyam Telelink.

Mobile service providers already share passive infrastructure such as towers, repeaters and shelters.

Bharti Airtel is aiming at having 100-125 million subscribers by 2010, Mittal said. The company currently has 60 million users, and is among the top 10 mobile companies in the world.

source :: http://www.business-standard.com/common/st...mp;autono=33931

A business move by Mittal against Reliance Infratel because active components of later are CDMA-based.

Still I applaud this move.

[kesav 127]

DoT to sign spectrum deals soon: Raja

NEW DELHI: The department of telecommunication (DoT) would sign the much-awaited licensing agreements for spectrum allocation with new players in the mobile landscape by the end of this week. “We would start signing the agreements in the next couple of days and the process would be completed soon,” communication minister A Raja told ET .

Mr Raja has also asked public telecom operator BSNL to speed up the process of executing networks where new players would be operating.

Mr Raja on Wednesday asked BSNL to include more partners, including the likes of ITI, as vendors in the process of network execution. The government would sign 210 licensing agreements with nine new telecom operators for 23 circles across the country.

Letter of intent (LoI) was issued to new players in January and they are expected to launch services in March. DoT has decided to go ahead with the process despite protests over the process of issuing LoI.

source :: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/2799914.cms

Eagerly awaited............

[KumaarShah 143]

Number portability, 3G to spark changes in Indian telecom sector

22 Feb, 2008, 0328 hrs IST, TNN

MUMBAI: Once out of the spectrum muddle, the Indian telecom sector is poised to undergo a massive transformation in terms of revenue growth and reach. Spectrum pricing, number portability and ushering in of 3G technology would be the key elements of change, say telecom analysts.

The current spectrum imbroglio will be resolved sooner rather than later; it’s the follow-on events that will be more critical in determining the risk-reward profile of each player, they say. According to an India Infoline telecom report, the competitive landscape and growth drivers for the sector are set for a bigger change, as the government is likely to follow up 2G spectrum allocation with changes in the way spectrum is priced and introduction of 3G and number portability.

“Only those incumbents who manage to win 3G licence will emerge as winners, as they will be best positioned to grow their ARPUs (average revenue per user), exploit their existing infrastructure better and at the least, remain competitive in a mobile number portability (MNP) regime,” said India Infoline’s telecom analyst GV Giri. Such an environment would help industry majors grow, setting the stage for the next phase on revenue growth, analysts said.

“We believe that monthly net-add numbers could surge over the next 12 months, as incumbents prepare for impending competition. However, this would happen at the expense of lower ARPUs,” said a Credit Suisse report. Ever since the uncertainty on new spectrum allocation began a few months ago, the telecom sector has been a big underperfomer. The stakes involved are indeed high, and the markets are not in a mood to bet on any single outcome.

There are many in the market who believe the spectrum issue would be resolved in 3 to 6 months. “The most probable scenario, in our view, is a market-driven pricing of spectrum, as it seems to be the least contentious. While this will increase upfront costs, it will put incumbents at an even more advantageous position. The ending of uncertainty, would by itself be a positive,” the India Infoline report said.

However, weakening operating metrics and lack of EPS upgrades could continue to weigh on the shares, the Credit Suisse report said. Taking a macro view, Asia-Pacific telecom operators should continue to benefit from the industry’s stable outlook. Nevertheless, these companies will face increasing risks from their changing business profiles given the dynamic competitive landscape, deregulation, change in cash flow mix to lower-margin, new services or to higher-risk emerging markets and heavy capital-spending requirements.

“In light of their increasing business risk profiles, the most significant threat faced by many regional operators relates to their financial policies that are increasingly focused on providing higher dividends, share buybacks, or acquisitions that could lead to more lenient financial policies,” said a recent Standard & Poor’s telecom report.

Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Number...how/2803087.cms

[kesav 127]

DoT draws up priority list for new license holders

Datacom Solutions, in which Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot holds a stake, has topped the list of companies in terms of precedence in converting its letter of intent (LoI) into a licence, according to a note finalised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The list forms the basis for the allocation of spectrum, the radio frequencies that enable wireless communications, among mobile companies that have signed licence agreements with the government to launch operations.

The government issued LoIs to six new operators for licences on January 10 this year. Following this, the operators were asked to submit their acceptance offer, entry fee and a bank guarantee to the DoT.

The eligibility list has been prepared on the basis of which company submitted these details and the money the earliest.

Although the DoT’s note has proposed that the government now go ahead and sign licence agreements on the basis of compliance with the LoI terms, Minister of Communications A Raja has asked for a report on spectrum availability.

In this connection, Raja has raised the question of how many players the DoT will be able to accommodate within the spectrum currently available.

With the availability of 40 MHz of spectrum likely to be delayed till the end of the year from its original March deadline, sources in the telecom ministry said the DoT lacks the spectrum to take care of the needs of the six new operators, each of which is entitled to start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz.

That apart, the DoT has to cater to the needs of incumbents that are expanding services and for CDMA operators like Reliance and the Tatas that have been permitted to launch GSM services.

The “first come first served” policy has also been challenged by some operators, including Idea Cellular and Spice Telecom, which have alleged that priority in granting licences cannot be based on “differences of a few fractions of seconds” among telecom operators in fulfilling payment and other LoI obligations.

source :: http://www.business-standard.com/common/ne...739&chkFlg=

[@ksh@T 20]

Auction 2G spectrum, US advises India

NEW DELHI: The United States has suggested to India to adopt auction system for distributing 2G and 3G spectrum (radio frequency) to telecom companies.

At present, India distributes 2G spectrum to players depending on who applies first, but plans to soon start auction of 3G spectrum.

"The US government has recommended to the Indian government that it should follow open auction method for allocation of 2G and 3G spectrum," US Embassy First Secretary (Economics) Eric Anthony Jones said at the launch of Voice over Internet Telephony services by American firm Cordia Corp.

He said the mobile telephony sector in India was growing at a rapid pace, but broadband penetration in the country is still very low as compared to China and other places.

Increased access to Internet would help in spreading e-governance, e-health and e-education services in the country, Jones said.

The VoIP services to be offered by Cordia LT would help consumers in making ISD calls at a very reasonable price. The subscribers can avail of the facility with any broadband connection and with a normal wireline or cordless telephone instrument along with a analog adapter.

The residential plans would start at Rs 595 and will go up to Rs 2,495. Under the Rs 595 plan, the users would get 200 minutes outgoing calls to any of the global country and unlimited incoming calls.

In the Rs 2,495 plan, the users would get unlimited outgoing as well as incoming calls to any country.

all players must be thinking that who the hell is US to advaice india

[@ksh@T 20]

GSM does not want 2G auction

NEW DELHI: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has shot off a stern letter to telecom minister A Raja, warning him of a barrage of litigation and disputes if any attempt is made by government to invite an auction for 2G spectrum.

With this, the GSM industry has taken the newly appointed minister head on. The trigger for this open confrontation is reports proclaiming that DoT is considering an auction for 2G spectrum to enable level playing field between CDMA and GSM operators and existing and new licensees.

CDMA operators' intent to bid for GSM spectrum is bitterly resented by GSM industry. On the one hand, existing operators and licensees seek priority of spectrum allocation over new applicants. COAI's letter is firm and unambiguous.

GSM industry has sought the continuation of existing dispensation process in which spectrum allocation is linked to usage, which is in turn linked to the subscriber base of each operator. COAI wants government to stick to its prescribed road map of up to 15 MHz for each GSM operator.

The government, however, is faced with a situation of acute spectrum shortage. About 96 licence applications have poured in, of which only 22 licences have been issued in December 06. All 96 want additional spectrum. This is addition to the demands of the existing 136 licensees.

COAI's letter cautions government that, any attempt to change (current policy) would be an assault on licensing and violate contract between parties. The damage would extend far beyond existing issues if the licences were to be treated as mere scraps of paper that can be mutilated at will. It further warns of litigation and disputes, which could harm orderly growth of the sector.

Source: The Times of India

[KumaarShah 143]

NEW DELHI: The rollout plans of the new entrants in 18 circles are set to get delayed. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has decided to await the outcome of the various court cases on spectrum allocation before allotting radio frequencies to the new entrants in 18 of the 22 telecom circles in the country.

The move comes as the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of the DoT has pointed out that if the order at which companies are allotted spectrum were to be changed based on the outcome of the court rulings, then it will be ‘impossible to get back spectrum from the earlier allottees and give it to the new ones’.

Besides, the WPC has also said that in these 18 circles, there would not be sufficient spectrum to award to any company that wins court cases if start-up spectrum is given to the new entrants. The WPC has also added that such a scenario may cause ‘avoidable embarrassment’.

At the same time, WPC has asked the DoT to allot spectrum to all the new entrants in the remaining four circles — Andhra, Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), where queue for radio frequencies will be based on the order by which the companies had paid the licence fee. The logic: It is only in these four circles that there is enough spectrum to accommodate all the nine new players and also meet the requirements of existing ones.

Last month, in a sudden change of policy, DoT said that spectrum will be awarded to the nine new entrants based on who paid the entry fee first. This change of policy by DoT resulted in the pecking order for allocating spectrum being changed, and companies such as Videocon-owned Datacom and Swan headed the new queue for radio frequencies as they made the payments first.

This also implied that companies such as Idea and Spice which headed the earlier queue for spectrum lost their lead positions. As per the earlier existing first-come-first-served policy, priority for spectrum was based on the date of licence. This led to Idea Cellular and Spice dragging DoT to both TDSAT as well as the Delhi HC against what they termed as ‘faulty implementation of the first-come-first-served policy’ in the issue of spectrum by DoT.

Besides, there are several other cases that are pending in the courts. Parsvnath Developers, whose application was disqualified by DoT has also approached the Delhi HC. If Delhi HC were to uphold Parsvnath’s plea, then the company’s position in the queue for spectrum will be ahead of many of the other LoI holders. Another case is that of Swiss company ByCell.

This company was not awarded LoIs last month as its application was held up for lack of security clearance, which was held up due to a fake complaint by an MP to the Prime Minister’s office. The MP later said that the complaint was forged. “In view of the ByCell case and the court’s interim directions in the case of Parsvnath Developers, the priority of licence to some of the new entrants is subject to final decision/orders,” WPC has told DoT.

Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/2820999.cms

[kesav 127]

Govt. issues 22 more telecom licenses

The government issued 22 more telecom licenses to new players, including Tata Teleservices and Shyam Telelink, but may stop giving more in Rajasthan, Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh.

Shyam Telelink has been given licenses for two circles in Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh and may get for other circles in the next two days. With the issuance of 22 new licenses on Monday (March 03), the total number of new licenses has gone to 88.

Besides Shyam, Tata Teleservices also bagged licenses for the remaining circles of Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Assam while the Loop Telecom got for nine circles.

BK Modi-led Spice Telecom also got license for Delhi. In all, 120 new licenses would be issued and the process may be completed this week.

source :: http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup...;secID=livenews

[kesav 127]

Spectrum fee calculus will keep out fixed line revenue

The government might concede a sop to telecom service providers ahead of effecting a steep hike in the spectrum charges. Revenues earned from fixed-line phone subscribers would no longer be taken into account while calculating the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) on which annual spectrum charges are to be paid to the government.

Unified access service (UAS) providers — offering both wireless and fixed-line phone connections — pay annual spectrum charges on a revenue-share basis.

So far, the revenue-share amount was determined on the basis of a telco's AGR (including fixed line revenue). But now, the department of telecommunications (DoT) has now revised the licence agreement.

The decision will benefit unified access service providers who earlier had licences for only cellular mobile telecom service (CMTS). As per the amended agreement for all UAS licences migrated from CMTS, while calculating the AGR for the limited purpose of levying spectrum charges based on revenue-share, revenue from wireline or fixed line subscribers shall not be taken into account.

Among the telcos offering both wireless and wireline services are Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Bharti, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices. According to official data, the government collected Rs 2,090 crore as spectrum charges in 2006-07, Rs 1,376 crore in 2005-06, and Rs 1,037 crore in 2004-05.

The amount of spectrum charges likely to be collected during 2008-09 is Rs 2,806 crore, as per the Budget estimates. The Telecom Commission, it is believed, will hike the spectrum charges for telcos soon. Currently, a telco pays an annual spectrum usage charge on a revenue-share basis at 2 per cent of its AGR for start-up spectrum.

This fee may be hiked to as much as 8 per cent.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in a speech recently that the government must maximise its revenue from allocation of spectrum to telecom companies, as is the international practice.

Adequate spectrum, a scarce natural resource, is essential for operating a mobile phone service.

Few operators should feel very happy about this news.

source:: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14619213

[kesav 127]

Now its official..............

Landline, net revenues out of spectrum fee

The DoT announced that revenues from landline and internet services will no longer be considered in calculating spectrum fees. Presently operators have to pay spectrum fees ranging from 2-6% of their total revenues including landline and broadband services.

“While calculating aggregate gross revenue (AGR) for the limited purpose of levying spectrum charges based on revenue share, revenue from wireline subscriber shall not be taken into account,” the DoT said in a statement.

Operators had for long argued that since spectrum was used in offering mobile services, only revenues from mobile services should be considered in calculating spectrum fees.

And even the government will not lose any revenues from spectrum fees collection due to this incentive as the figures are estimated to rise by Rs.800 crore.

Operators like BSNL, MTNL, Bharti, Reliance and Tata find some relief from the development even as they face steep hike in spectrum fees.

source :: http://www.telecomtiger.com/fullstory.aspx?storyid=1089

Now, the big questions?

Will they pass on the benefit to end customers?

Will the landline see another revolution?

[kesav 127]

Here is the official link.....

http://www.dotindia.com/uas/2008/amendment...from%20CMTS.pdf