The Spectrum Tussle - Cdma V Gsm

[Arun 795]

Dual tangle hangs spectrum

November 21, 2007 at 2308 hrs IST

Financial Express

The ongoing telecom tangle is likely to get murkier. GSM players, who have taken the department of telecommunication (DoT) to court for “twisting rules to benefit one operator” (Reliance Communications), have found a new ammunition. After dual technology licence and spectrum allocation, it is the mode of spectrum charges that is irking the GSM lobby.

The DoT decision to levy separate spectrum charges for two technologies, GSM and CDMA, has once again led the GSM lobby to allege that the government is favouring Reliance Communications by adopting dual standards and going back on its earlier stand on the issue. They have also alleged that this will cost the exchequer loss of revenue.

Though the move to this effect has backing of the Telecom Commission, the highest apex policy-making body in the DoT, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and later a DoT committee favoured levying combined charges for GSM and CDMA spectrum.

Separate spectrum charges for two technologies works out cheaper than the combined licence fee on the total revenues as the CDMA players pay lower rate of spectrum usage charges.

While the GSM players have already opposed the move, what may add fuel to the fire is the fact that the DoT has actually deviated from its earlier stand of charging fees on combined spectrum.

According to documents available with FE, a year back the DoT had levied combined spectrum charges on Bharti Airtel. Bharti, which is basically a GSM operator, was holding separate licences for both fixed as well as cellular services in Madhya Pradesh before the introduction of unified access service licence (UASL) in 2004. Under its fixed licence service, the company was providing WLL (mobile) services through CDMA spectrum in far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh. Later, Bharti migrated to UASL and surrendered its fixed service licence. However, it requested the DoT to allow usage of CDMA spectrum under its another UAS licence to avoid discontinuation of WLL service.

While the DoT allowed the usage of CDMA spectrum, it levied charges on a combined spectrum basis. Bharti made several requests against combined spectrum charges but to no avail. Bharti was later made to surrender the CDMA spectrum as it was not meeting the required subscriber norms.

Now, in a total turnaround from its last year’s stand, the DoT has decided to levy separate spectrum charges separately on Reliance Communication.

Further, the DoT move is against the recommendations of the telecom regulator. Trai in its recommendations, while allowing cross-technology under one licence, had stated that combined spectrum will be taken into account as per the prescribed spectrum charges.

To review the Trai recommendations, the DoT constituted an internal committee, which upheld Trai’s recommendations. However, the Telecom Commission finally decided to levy separate spectrum charges for the two technologies.

The move will benefit Reliance, which is predominantly a CDMA operator and has applied for pan-India GSM spectrum.

According to rough estimates, as a result of the DoT’s move, Reliance will pay about Rs 400 crore less in spectrum charges to the government than in the case if combined levy was made applicable as in case of Bharti in the past.

When contacted, a senior DoT official refused to comment saying the matter was sub-judice at the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). He, however, added all decisions were taken as per the due process of law.

[Arun 795]

GSM players pulling up a rip-off: Anil Ambani

Business Standard

New Delhi November 26, 2007

In a scathing attack on GSM players, Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioning how there can be a net increase in GSM subscribers month on month if there is an acute shortage of spectrum.

In his letter dated October 19, Ambani points out that while the top three GSM players — Bharti, Vodafone-Essar and Idea Cellular — have acquired an additional 52 million subscribers in the past few years without allocation of any additional spectrum, something they have constantly told the government that they do not have sufficiently.

“If there was no spectrum, how did they add 25% to the current subscriber base,” he asks in the letter. GSM operators have been adding four to five million subscribers every month for the past many months even as the spectrum shortage issue has been boiling.

Cellular Operators association of India director general T V Ramachandran, however, declined to comment on the points raised by Ambani.

Ambani has also demanded that Bharti, Vodafone-Essar and Idea Cellular should return an aggregate of 50 MHz-plus of spectrum which they have preemptively taken in excess of their entitlement or make appropriate payments to the government for the scarce resource.

Under the licence agreement, the government is contractually obliged to give up to 6.2 MHz of spectrum to a new operator per circle.

However, all these players have received spectrum much beyond the figure in various circles. Ambani has also voluntarily agreed to return spectrum that Reliance Telecom, which operates GSM services in seven circles, holds in excess of 6.2 MHz (Bihar circle).

Ambani has suggested that this excess spectrum should be re-farmed to new players who are waiting to enter the sector (there are over 29 companies waiting in the wings for a UASL).

In his letter, Ambani suggests spectrum of up to 6.2 Mhz should be given to new players, at first, in the same frequency and on the same terms as the existing players in order to create a level playing field.

Ambani says that the excess spectrum with the GSM players has lead to a saving in capital expenditure of over Rs 20,000 crore for the operators. Apart from loss of revenue to the government, it has also prevented new players from coming in.

IN EXCESS?

> Spectrum in excess of 6.2 mhz

* Bharti: 21.4 mhz

* Vodafone Essar:20.2 mhz

* Idea: 12.6 mhz

[kesav 127]

I agree with Anil Ambani regarding the spectrum.

The crucial points to be considered wrt spectrum are

1) National and scarce Resource

2) TEC is a technical arm of DoT and has to be respected of its capability

3) New and incumbent players have to be treated on par (to avoid future litigations and providing level playing field)

4) Spectrum recovered from incumbent will help in injecting more new players(hence, more competition <-> more customer satisfaction)

5) It'll push the technologies to their limits which inturn help in slotting more subscribers in the given bandwidth

6) It'll provide fresh fire in the incumbents' belly to increase their subscribers inorder not to surrender their excess spectrum(increases teledensity)

The ongoing commitee should only concentrate on the timeline which has to be framed for the return of the excess spectrum.

It should concentrate on the modalities of returing excess spectrum within framed timeline.

There can be smaller changes in the criteria proposed by TEC if some technologists(neutral from IIT/IISc) in the committee really feel the pinch in implementation.

Changes to subscriber criteria proposed by TEC should not happen due to industrialists but only by intellectuals(read technologists).

[kesav 127]

Sunil Mittal and Arun Sarin challenges TRAI/TEC norms.

Sunil Mittal has informed that Bharti's meeting with telecom panel is over. He has challenged TRAI/TEC norms with evidence and data, he added. Mittal opines that ignorance can't be used as an excuse to change norms. Adoption of modern technologies can’t be questioned, he added.

“We have challenged the TEC and TRAI norms for subscriber link criteria and told them scientifically that it is not correct. We know how to run networks and ignorance cannot be used for changing norms for subscriber criteria. I think that we have presented our case very well,” said Sunil Mittal, CMD, Bharti Airtel.

Analysts said that this is was a fairly important meeting. Sunil Mittal has already made a presentation and Vodafone might also give a presentation. Maybe later in the day, the Reliance Communications fraternity will also be making a presentation.

Sunil Mittal walked in to the DoT this morning and made a presentation to the telecom panel, which has been constituted to review the TRAI and TEC recommendations on spectrum allocation. He walked out of the meeting and said that he had challenged the recommendations on facts and figures. In his presentation, he cited the Delhi circle as an example and said that all modern spectrum adoption techniques are being put to use and the government cannot question the GSM operators, as far as spectral efficiency is concerned.

It is also heard that Mittal took on Anil Ambani, who has written to the Prime Minister, saying that GSM operators should vacate as much as 50 megahertz of spectrum. Mittal said that there is only 25 megahertz of spectrum, that the industry is currently using, and Ambani should get his facts right.

Soon after Mittal came, Arun Sarin walked on to the DoT and made a presentation. He was representing Vodafone and that was a surprise as he was not expected in the capital. But he chose not to speak to the media.

Anil Ambani will be meeting the panel in the evening. He may make a few statements as well.

Sources in the DoT and the industry said that the issue is nowhere close to settlement and they do not expect too much at the end of this day-long meeting. The meetings are likely to continue even on November 30, but the deadlock is not going to end anywhere in the near future.

source :: http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/bus...s-/14/12/314541

[HetalDP 947]

WOW let them fight and we should cook our Food in this Fire

GSM lobby at there Ugly Face !!!

They should Push more Tower and Vacate Additional Spectrum.

[Honest 836]

^^^

My dear friends, let GSM operators do what they can. At last they have to vacate the additional spectrum.

Regards.

[kesav 127]

The key points put forward by the GSM players during the current deliberation are

1) Technology has not improved in last few years

2) No other country follows these strict spectrum criteria

3) No need to push in more operators since already competition is stiff

The point 1 is absolute lie and doesn't deserve any further discussion in this forum.

I feel all the engineers/technologists who have worked tirelessly for the telecom sector in the last 2 years would commit suicide on hearing this.

I never expected such kind of statements from business stalwarts like Arun Sarin and Sunil Mittal which demeans the effort and sincerity of technologists.

The point 2 needs discussion.

India is a densely populated and the spectrum crunch faced in India is unprecedented in comparison with rest of the world.

Bracketing India with other developed countries is grossly misleading given its sheer size and population.

Why our operators are unwilling to project India as pioneer in spectrum efficient implementation of telecom technologies?

Why are we always looking at other countries to follow? Why can't we lead?

What our GSM operators doing with the corpus which they’ve gained during pre-CDMA period (before entry of Reliance and TATA)? (Hope everybody gets reminded of the cost of calls during that period)

Let India be a test bed and its success be replicated in other developing countries.

The point 3 also needs closer look.

Competition in any field is relative.

What is considered as competition today may look like an Oligopoly when we look back after 3 years.

The Endeavour of Regulator and Govt. Department is to bring more smiles in the faces of million citizens who are still untouched by the warmth of technologies.

With the current call rates you just cannot convince them.

Telecom is after all a very basic infrastructure and it needs utmost competition.

This could only be achieved by pushing as much as possible operators into the field with the available spectrum.

Edited November 28, 2007 by kesav

[kesav 127]

Tatas seek priority in spectrum queue.

NEW DELHI: After a long silence, the Tatas on Monday staked a priority claim on GSM spectrum under the crossover technology spectrum policy announced by government on October 19.

"We believe we are the only legitimate applicant of GSM spectrum under this policy", Anil Sardana, MD, Tata Teleservices told ToI. This is the first statement made by the Tatas' since the announcement of the policy, which saw Reliance become the immediate beneficiary and the GSM industry swiftly offer its legal opposition.

The Tatas', which have been silent on the issue, are now planning to assert their rights through the TDSAT. "We are impleaded in the matter and our lawyers will represent our stand at the next TDSAT hearing on 12 December", said Sardana.

"If the courts decide that the 3 previous applications are speculative, then the first legitimate application is the Tatas, as we are the first and only company to apply immediately after the policy was announced", he told ToI.

However, telecom minister, A Raja, as reported by ToI, referred the Tatas' proposal to the law ministry, asking how its application should be treated, as it came after the policy announcement while all other requests (Reliance, HFCL and Shyam Telecom) came before.

Tatas' decision to now make its presence felt in TDSAT, firmly unsettles the governments' reported attempt to reach a compromise between GSM players and Reliance. A high level meeting of telecom CEO's with DoT secretary, DS Mathur, is planned for Wednesday to discuss a workable peace settlement. Ratan Tata is expected to attend.

The Tatas' application for GSM spectrum also plays havoc with new applicants by making their wait in queue for 2G spectrum under the first-come-first-served policy almost futile.

The Tatas' intervention is driven by a need to own two parallel networks.

source :: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tatas_s...how/2554431.cms

[kesav 127]

Russians to queue for Indian frequencies.

Despite the existing procedure to grant telecommunications license in India is heavily criticized, the Indian Ministry of Communications managed to preserve it. So the company ByCell established by the Russians is sure to be granted licenses in 5 states, however it is unlikely to receive a nationwide license. While JSFC Sistema's claim for the nationwide license is at risk.

'The Indian government has decided to grant universal telecommunications licenses on the basis of the existing policy', - Shakeel Ahmad, the Public Communications Minister, the second person in the Indian communication sector after the Minister of Telecommunications and IT Andimuthu Raja, states. The Indian newspaper Economic Times reports a corresponding statement was made during his speech in the Parliament. The existing order foresees the telecommunications licenses to be granted to those who applied for them earlier than others.

The proposal to change the existing procedure has been made this year, when the authority received 575 applications for licenses in 22 Indian states from 46 companies. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and former head of the regional operator BPL Mobile, sent the letter to the Prime-Minister and the Minister of Communications asking why the authority refused to grant the licenses through a tender, and why the license fee remained unchanged since 2001 (the current fee for the universal nationwide telecommunications license is $400 mln.). Hansraj Bhardwaj, the Minister of Justice, tried to interfere with the situation offering to establish a special ministerial committee to develop new regulations to grant licenses.

However Andimuthu Raja remained steadfast: he considers holding tenders for 2G and 3G frequencies (GSM and CDMA) inappropriate. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is of the same opinion: making recommendations regarding frequency granting it approves of tenders only for 3G and WiMax licenses.

The plan of the Department of telecommunications (DoT) at the Ministry of Telecommunications foresees the first to receive the licenses are the existing operators, which seek to expand their frequency resources. However, the state enterprise Telecommunications engineering center has developed such criteria, according to which the operators will have to expand their subscriber base 4-15-fold depending on the state to receive additional frequencies, which is practically impossible in the immediate future. The existing GSM operators have certain advantages in the regions, where they received the licenses two years ago but were not granted any frequencies. CDMA operators also have certain advantages as they are allowed to operate in GSM within the universal licenses they have. To the benefit of the Russian companies and others seeking to enter the Indian market, DoT intends to satisfy the claim of only one out of two Indian nationwide CDMA-operators - Reliance Communications.

First priority

Existing GSM-operators, which have licenses for some states, but have not frequencies

Company Number of requested states Number of covered states

Aircel 14 8

Idea Cellular 2 11

Vodafone — Essar 6 13

Second priority

Existing CDMA-operators , which seek for GSM frequencies in the states covered

Company Number of requested states

HFCL 1

Reliance Communication 14 (the company has GSM-frequencies in 8 states)

Shyam Telelink 1

Tata Teleservices (application under question) 19

Third priority

Companies that applied for the licenses earlier than the others

Company Number of requested states About the company

ByCell 5 Established by a group of Russian investors

HFCL 21 Regional CDMA-operator

Idea Cellular 9 GSM-operator covering 11 states

Spice 20 Regional GSM-operator

Tata Teleserices 3 Nationwide CDMA-operator (operates in 19 states)

Fourth priority

Companies applied till September 25th but are unlikely to receive any frequencies

Company Field of activity

Datacomm Solutions

Essar owns regionalGSM-operator BPL Mobile

India Bulls Development, financial services

Oswals Engineering

Parvsnath Development

S Tel Some Russian telecommunications company negotiates the given structure acquizition

Shyam Telelink Regional CDMA-operator, agreed with JSFC Sistema upon its acquizition

Unitech Development

Final priority

Companies managed to apply till the last date, October 1st. Their applications are unlikely to be satisfies

Company Field of activity

AT&T US Telecommunications company

ByCell (application for 17 states) Established by a group of Russian investors

DLF Development

Moser Baer Manufacturer of Optical and Magnetic Storage

Sterlite Xerox Manufacturer

Videocon Electronics manufacturer

Then follow the companies seeking for the licenses in the states, where they are not operating yet. However, according to The Times of India, there are enough frequencies only for the first five applicants. Those seeking for the nationwide license will be granted frequencies only in 10-12 states. Among the companies, who managed to submit the applications earlier than the others, is the Switzerland offshore ByCell Holding established by the Russians. But it has applied only for 5 not very prosperous regions.

The operators, which applied later including Shyam telelink acquired by JSFC Sistema, are unlikely to receive any frequencies. The companies that applied in the last month, from September 25th to October 1st, are of lowest priority. The mentioned above company ByCell gets under the mentioned category with its application for 15 states. However, the Indian authority has not limited the number of companies operating in one state, so all applications might be satisfied, in theory. But in such a case many of the applicants will have to confine themselves to fixed-line telephony, no relief to be made for not receiving any frequencies.

Neither ByCell, nor JSFC Sistema will give any comments till the final decision is made. According to the source in one of the companies, 'the situation in India is changing every day, so it is rather difficult to forecast what might go out'.

JSFC Sistema`s main business areas are telecommunications (MTS, Comstar-UTS, MTT, Golden Line, etc.) and electronics (JSC Mikron and other microelectronics facilities). In 2005 the company realized $1,56 from its IPO (19% of capital stock) conducted on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s stake was listed on the LSE, RTS (Russian Trading System), and MICEX. According to US GAAP the company’s net profit grew by 87% and reached $810,1mnl within 9 months of 2006.

I'm eagerly waiting to see what these Russians have in store to offer India.

source :: http://eng.cnews.ru/news/top/indexEn.shtml?2007/11/28/277157

[Ramchi 0]

These Mittals, Vittals, Jains, Tatas, Sarins, Ambanis want to live a legacy life by looting pockets of Indian citizens. The reality is they are incompetent when it comes to real competition. Unfortunate truth is, most of the big shots in the world are like that including Bill, Gates. They wont allow competition to brew, they will do ANYTHING to curtail competition (see Gurubhai movie!).

To add insult to injury, we have inefficient governments, totally ignorant or irrelevant authorities and corrupt babus running the whole system.

Homilies apart, honestly, this spectrum tussle is made to look like a battle where the lines have clearly drawn by the operators. Unless external influence comes into force, I wont be surprised if statusquo continues for another few more years.

[Honest 836]

^^^

@ramchi

Well said my dear friend.

Regards.

[KumaarShah 143]

DoT set to make peace offer to GSM lobby

30 Nov, 2007, 0117 hrs IST,Joji Thomas Philip, TNN

NEW DELHI: The department of telecom (DoT) is learnt to have prepared a settlement offer for GSM players, in a bid to resolve the stand-off over the new spectrum allocation norms and end all litigation over the new telecom policy.

According to an internal note of DoT, the seven-point compromise formula involves accepting telecom regulator Trai’s recommendation that existing service providers increase their subscriber base between two to six times before being granted additional spectrum (radio frequencies on which mobile services operate).

This is far less stringent than the Telecom Engineering Centre’s recommendation that the subscriber density should be hiked 4-15 times. DoT has added another sweetener: operators will not be asked to surrender any part of the already-allocated spectrum although the enhanced subscriber density norm would render part of the allocated spectrum excess. However, no fresh spectrum will be allotted until they fulfil the eligibility criteria specified by Trai.

The settlement package also involves operators like Vodafone, Idea and Aircel being awarded 4.4 MHz of spectrum to launch operations in new circles, operators being allowed to offer services on both GSM and CDMA platforms under the same licence, and two new entrants being given licences in each circle to launch services. Besides, it states that auction of 3G spectrum will be conducted within the next 90 days and mobile number portability extended across the country, not just the metros as announced initially.

Currently, Aircel holds licences for 14 circles, Idea for two and Vodafone for six, but they have not been able to launch services as 2G spectrum has not been allocated. The compromise formula, while addressing this issue, also states that the new licence applications of ‘existing GSM’ players will also be approved.

This implies, the applications of Idea Cellular and Spice, which have sought new licences in nine and 20 telecom circles, respectively, will be cleared. Besides, GSM players must drop all objections to the use of cross-over technology, thus paving the way for players like Reliance Communications, HFCL, Shyam and Tatas to launch GSM-based mobile services.

The settlement solution also envisages that two new entrants be granted licences based on spectrum availability. Under the existing policy, licences are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis, and the queue of new entrants is headed by Swiss-based Bycell followed by Swan and Cheetah (both are linked to Reliance Communications), S Tel and Parsvnath Developers.

Significantly, the compromise formula also addresses two key concerns of GSM operators with regard to number portability and auctioning of 3G spectrum. “Mobile number portability (MNP) to be allowed across India and not just the four metros, direction for unlocking CDMA handsets to allow CDMA customers to move to other operators be given, road map for number portability for fixed line also be announced,” states the DoT’s internal note. GSM operators had been demanding that MNP be extended across the country while adding that the same be extended to fixedlines also.

With regard to 3G spectrum, the compromise is that DoT will drop its initial plan to restrict it to just three GSM-based operators with each getting 10 MHz each. “3G auction to be conducted within the next 90 days. The announcement to be made right away—6 licences of 5 MHz each,” the DoT note added.

While 5 MHz will make it impossible for a new player to enter the telecom market as it will require additional start-up spectrum, it will be enough for existing GSM players to migrate to 3G. If the government limits allotment of spectrum to 5 MHz, it will effectively rule out foreign players from 3G spectrum bidding and ensure that foreign players can bid only in theory.

Indian telcos, both CDMA and GSM players, have been bitterly opposed to the entry of foreign players in 3G. They have even written to DoT threatening legal action if new players are allowed to participate in the auction.

Link Courtesy: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...219,curpg-1.cms

[@ksh@T 20]

RCom opposes GSM companies' view on licence fee

2 Dec, 2007, 2058 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications on Sunday opposed GSM operators' view that license fee for new entrants should be raised above the level prevailing in the past, saying any such move will prevent fair competition and create artificial barriers for the entry of new players.

"The private dominant GSM operators have unleashed a misleading propaganda by stating that the existing license fee numbers for various circles are outdated, and the same need upward revision to reflect current realities," RCom chairman Anil Ambani said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He said as recently as in December 2006, the Department of Telecom (DoT) had issued 23 licenses to leading existing GSM players, including Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Aircel.

The entry cost of a pan-India license is Rs 1,651 crore and since the fee paid only 11 months back has been accepted, "it would be discriminatory and unfair to now suggest that the same requires revision for new entrants", he wrote.

In fact, contrary to GSM operators' allegations, there was a strong case for new entrants to be charged a much lower fee than has been paid by earlier licensees.

This is the third letter written by Ambani to Prime Minister in past one month, raising the issues of excess spectrum held by GSM operators and the license fees.

Ambani said new players entering the fray would be severely handicapped as most of the potential market has already been captured by existing players and it may take several years for new entrants to achieve profitability.

The DoT should consider reducing the license fees to be paid by the new GSM entrants, including RCom, so as to make some headway in terms of providing a level playing field.

"The question of indexation or making the license fee to the market valuation will be a disadvantage to the new licenses," he said.

PM favours return of excess spectrum from mobile firms

NEW DELHI: Dubbing it as a 'national resource', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have favoured return of spectrum from any telecom operator who is found having airwaves in excess of the contractual obligation.

A suggestion to this effect is understood to have been given by Singh when Communication Minister A Raja met him on Friday night (November 30).

The CDMA operators led by Reliance Communications and GSM service providers led by Bharti Airtel are slugging out in public on the issue of allocation of spectrum to mobile firms.

While no official comment could be obtained on the meeting between Raja and Singh, sources indicated the Prime Minister also disfavoured suggestion of referring the issue of spectrum allocation to an empowered group of ministers as suggested by some of his Cabinet colleagues.

According to DoT sources, top GSM operators have got beyond the contracted obligation of 6.2 MHz of frequency (in some cases the contracted quantity is only 4.4 MHz).

In Parliament also, members belonging to various political parties especially Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has raised the issue of surrender of surplus spectrum.

While Anil Ambani, in a series of letter to the Prime Minister, accused GSM operators of hoarding spectrum, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal refuted this, saying the CDMA operator should put his mathematics in order.

The government has also constituted a panel with representatives from the Department of Telecom (DoT) and operators to review the recommendations of Telecom Engineering Centre which had suggested that the subscriber base be increased by 2-15 times to become eligible for additional frequency.

Bharti must welcome entry of RCom, others in GSM: RCom

NEW DELHI: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications on Saturday reacted sharply to rival Bharti Airtel's statement that others have equal opportunity to succeed, saying "if Bharti honestly believes in competition, it should welcome entry of RCom and other new players in GSM" segment.

RCom said it wants Bharti and other dominant GSM players to surrender extra spectrum held by them illegally so that new players waiting for a long time could start services.

"Bharti has illegally captured excess spectrum and thereby restricting entry of new players... Bharti, Vodafone and Idea all are holding excess illegal spectrum free of charge," RCom said in a statement.

On the other hand, Bharti had refuted RCom's allegations of hoarding spectrum. A Bharti Airtel statement had yesterday said GSM operators have only 25 MHz of frequency as against RCom's calculation of 50 MHz. The GSM player had also said it welcomed competition and everyone had the right to succeed.

All the operators have presented their views to an official committee to review Telecom Engineering Centre's recommendation and is expected to submit report soon.

TEC had suggested 2-15 time more subscribers to become eligible for additional spectrum while telecom regulator TRAI had recommended up to six times more subscribers.

The GSM operators have also opposed the policy of dual technology for mobile services which has helped RCom to enter the GSM arena.

hehe . . .koi apna competetor khada karta hai kya!

[Ramchi 0]

Marwaris never wanted competition. Arun Sarin, Mittal,Tata, Godrej, Bajaj....we have history of incometent businessmen who just by corrupting the babus and successive Congress governments kept Indian public at bay with their substandard products for almost 50 years non-stop.

By Gods will let them face competition and succeed if they can!

[HetalDP 947]

Still we have Best Rates Plan in World

Cheapest GPRS Rates in World

Among the Cheapest Calling Rate

Free Incomming 40% Coutries still dont offer it

Life Time Validity in Pennies Just Look at Canada, America, UK for the Plans.

Inter Operator Rates Plans.

[srk006 21]

One silly doubt.. Since COAI is the association of GSM players, won't Reliance come under their group after they roll-out GSM?

[Ramchi 0]

Don’t take numbers in absolute sense. $50 Mobile bill for an average America/European may be just 1/50th of their gross salary whereas Rs 500 for average Indians it is 1/5 - 1/10 of their salary. So purchasing power is more in Western countries while they spend more for more things while we spend less for lesser things!

Our data plans are more expensive and in other countries people get handsets at subsidized rates and sometimes they get two handsets for free etc…

[Arun 795]

One silly doubt.. Since COAI is the association of GSM players, won't Reliance come under their group after they roll-out GSM?

Reliance Telecom (GSM) was a member of COAI until September 2007 after it disagreed with the legal notice that COAI has served to the Department of Telecom and disassociated itself from COAI. Reliance Telecom seems to be listed under AUSPI ( http://www.auspi.in/members-profile.asp ) along with Reliance Communications now.

[kesav 127]

Spectrum war: Tata backs Ambani.

TATA wants further tightening. He wants it similar to CDMA.

Tata Teleservices on Tuesday indicated that it had joined hands with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications on the demand for the return of excess wireless spectrum held by GSM-technology-based mobile phone service operators, who are locked in a tug-of-war with the rival CDMA operators.

Reliance, which had built its infrastructure on CDMA technology so far, is trying to enter the GSM market, as the current universal licensing regime favours a technology-neutral policy. Players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular are the leading GSM operators in India. Anil Sardana managing director of Tata Teleservices Ltd, a CDMA service provider, demanded the government should ensure that the GSM service providers who have spectrum beyond the permitted limits should return the spectrum excess of 6.2 Mhz.

“Re-farming spectrum should be given to crossover technology operators(like Reliance), new operators and operators waiting for spectrum since December 2006,” Sardana said in a statement.

Rejecting a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) proposal, Sardana said, “It is shocking that the proposal talks about spectrum allocation which is 2:1 in favour of GSM,” he said.

source :: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/St...ta+backs+Ambani

[kesav 127]

Another wicket has fallen in COAI team.

Now its just left with only 3 players (Airtel,Vodafone and Idea).

BPL Mobile disagrees with COAI views on spectrum

New Delhi: Essar Group backed BPL Mobile has become the latest GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) player who has broken away from the views of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on spectrum allocation.

BPL Mobile, which has applied for new licences in 21 circles, has said that it did not agree with COAI’s views that existing operators who have applied for new licences before December 2006 should be given priority while allocating spectrum.

Seeks fair treatment

The company said that all the existing players, irrespective of the date of application, should be treated at par.

BPL Mobile currently offers mobile services in Mumbai. Its views assume significance because the Essar Group also has a 33 per cent stake in Vodafone Essar, which has supported COAI’s stance.

However, the company has supported COAI’s other demands such as restricting 3G auction to existing players and imposing the revised subscriber allocation norms prospectively.

The panel set up by the Government to review the subscriber-based spectrum allocation norms met today but did not finalise its report. It will meet again on December 10.

Hoarding spectrum

Meanwhile, about 20 Members of Parliament have signed on a letter to the Prime Minister blaming existing GSM operators of hoarding spectrum.

“It is estimated that they have close to 60 Mhz with them (GSM operators) illegally. The Government must order a CBI enquiry to fix responsibility. The Government must take steps to get this spectrum returned immediately and given to new licensees who have been waiting in queue for almost a year now after paying requisite fees,” the letter said.

Separately the Shiv Sena has written another letter to the PM urging that the subscriber allocation norms prescribed by the Telecom Engineering Centre should be adopted by the Government for allocation of spectrum.

Shiv Sena had earlier said that the Government should conduct auctions as it was the most transparent and fair way to distribute spectrum.

source :: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14572352

Edited December 7, 2007 by kesav

[Arun 795]

along with some political support too...

19 MPs seek PM's intervention on spectrum issue

Press Trust of India - 6th December, 2007

Pressure is mounting on GSM mobile operators to return "surplus" spectrum, with several lawmakers belonging to various political parties now seeking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to ensure that these airwaves are given to players waiting to start services.

"For the sake of fair competition, consumer benefit in terms of lower tariff and better services, it is imperative that the government allows new players in the cellular mobile sector," a letter signed by 19 Members of Parliament said.

The MPs include N Y Hanumanthappa, D Narbulla and D Vittalrau (Congress), A V Bellarmin (CPM), M Appadurai (CPI) and Gingee N Ramachandran (MDMK) among others.

The parliamentarians have supported the recommendations of Telecom Engineering Centre and regulator TRAI, saying their technical capabilities are second to none. The main GSM operators have questioned these recommendations for the sole purpose of retaining their hegemony, they said.

According to them, the dominant GSM players have cornered 10 MHz of spectrum across all circles. "This is in clear violation of licensing conditions which stipulate that each operator is entitled to get only 6.2 MHz of spectrum."

These firms have hoarded frequency and it is estimated they have close to 60 MHz with them illegally. The government must order a CBI enquiry to fix responsibility and bring the culprits to book for obtaining this illegal allocation and consequent revenue loss to the exchequer, the MPs said.

The GSM players, led by Bharti Airtel, and CDMA companies -- mainly Reliance Communications -- have been slugging out in public about their claims on spectrum. The GSM operators have said they have only 25 MHz of airwaves, while CDMA players claim these companies have 60 MHz excess spectrum.

Chandrababu Naidu joins spectrum war, writes to Prime Minister for GSM spectrum return

Times News Network - 6th Dec 2007

Chandrababu Naidu is also contributing to the steady stream of letters to the PM on spectrum.

The president of the TDP, in his second letter on the subject to the PM, dated December 4, says he has discovered "certain new facts which need to be considered as the government makes its policy decisions, in the interest of the telecom sector". The letter lists nine points, all representing the views already stated by the country's CDMA players.

Naidu believes that GSM players should accept the tightened subscriber-linked spectrum norms prescribed by the TEC, as even the TEC criteria needs to be further tightened by 3 to 4 times.

He points out that a "dominant GSM operator added over 50 million subscribers in the last 18 months without additional spectrum. It meant they not only had enough spectrum to manage the existing operations but also some excess spectrum, which they should be asked to surrender".

Naidu said he was compelled to write to Singh after watching alarming developments in the telecom sector.

"I have been a storng proponent of using technology to overcome hurdles in the shortest possible time frame and I am of firm belief that through use of technology, India can deliver econopmic benefits faster and to cross sections of our society," he said.

One of the shining examples of India's technology-led sector has been telecommunications. It not only serves as a vital backbone for India's IT industry, but has created millions of jobs and connected the length and breadth of India, including remotest parts, he added.

[kesav 127]

GSM operators delink from government's spectrum committee

Angered over the manner at which the Committee on spectrum was reviewing the criteria for allocating the scarce radio frequency to telecom operators, GSM operators said they would de-link from the panel set up by the government.

Stating that the committee is operating on a pre-determined mindset, the GSM group Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI) said their 'pleas are falling on the deaf ears.' The decision came amidst news reports that telecom minister A Raja is learnt to have cleared changes in licence conditions for grant of letter of intents (LoIs) to companies that applied for telecom licences before September 25 2007.

Minister of State for Communications and IT Shakeel Ahmad told Parliament that issues related to licencing procedures, enhancement of subscriber linked spectrum allocation criteria, spectrum charges, use of dual technology by telecom service providers have been sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mr Ahmad also said the government has decided not to auction the spectrum for 2G services at present and to grant new Unified Acces Services (UAS) Licenses as per the exisiting guidelines.

On 3G, he said, the government has announced the guidelines for 3G services which among others provide that 3G licenses would be granted through a controlled, simultaneous ascending e-auction, to ensure transparency in the selection process.

He said DoT has not formed any committee to study the 3G spectrum pricing and allocation.

However, based on the recommendations of an internal committee which had examined TRAI recommendation on 3G spectrum pricing and allocation the government announced broad guidelines for 3G policy.

Recently, telecom tribunal Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has rejected affidavit filed by the COAI, which accused the government of changing its policy on the spectrum allocation in a 'covert and malafide' manner.

Rejecting the plea, TDSAT Chairman Justice Arun Kumar said it will complicate the issue further adding that they would take stock later during the hearing.

In its additional affidavit, the COAI had said crossover allocation of spectrum is not permissible under the existing policy and licencing regime and the policy change has been carried out in a covert and legally malafide manner.

source :: http://www.indlawnews.com/0813FCB0665DE3B7D3A9A2C99EFCB0F8

[@ksh@T 20]

GSM cos agree to strict spectrum allocation norms

NEW DELHI: In a bid to find a solution to the ongoing spectrum tangle, leading GSM operators have told the department of telecom (DoT) that they are willing to negotiate towards tightening of the existing spectrum allocation norms, but only in category ‘B’ and ‘C’ telecom circles.

“We admit that the subscriber-linked spectrum allocation norms in B and C circles are more relaxed compared to the metros and category A circles. We have indicated that in some of these circles we are ready for an up to 40% increase in the subscriber numbers (from the existing norms) for us to qualify for additional radio frequencies,” a top source with a leading GSM player told ET.

However, with regard to the metros and A category circles, leading GSM players want new spectrum allocation norms to be issued based on the results of trials done on a ‘practical’ network over a period of time ranging from three to nine months, rather than using a simulation or mathematical model.

Here, they also want the DoT to consider international models of spectrum allocation in cities which have similar population numbers to that of India’s metros, and also submissions made by international experts be examined, before any final decision is taken.

Earlier this week, dominant GSM operators, which include Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular had turned down an offer from the DoT to accept telecom regulator TRAI’s recommendations on subscriber-linked spectrum allocation norms. TRAI had recommended that existing service providers increase their subscriber base between two to six times before being granted additional spectrum (radio frequencies on which mobile services operate).

These GSM players had also turned down the DoT offer to cap the maximum spectrum allotted to each player per circle at 10 MHz. Here, GSM players have indicated that while existing guidelines entitle them to a maximum of 15 MHz per circle, they are willing to consider a cap at 12.2 MHz, another source from the GSM side said.

While DoT during the last meet had assured telcos such as Vodafone and Idea that they will be given 4.4 MHz spectrum of priority to launch services in the circles where they currently hold licences, these operators want start up spectrum quota to be increased to 6.2 MHz per circle, the source added.

Additionally, GSM players have also stated that pending applications of existing players such as Idea and Spice must be cleared to help them expand their footprint on a pan-India basis, before Reliance Communications is granted GSM spectrum. If the DoT were to accept these demands, GSM players may drop their objections to dual technology.

Besides, GSM players have also told DoT that the exercise to arrive at new allocation norms must be carried out separately and simultaneously for operators on both technology platforms. They have also said that the revised criteria must be introduced for both sets of operators at the same time as there was justification in the DoT implementing new norms only for the GSM industry.

Significantly, GSM players also agreed to the two issues the DoT had offered them earlier as part of a compromise formula and want these retained in the new settlement agreement. The first is with regard to number portability, where they want this to be extended across India and not just the four metros and also that CDMA players be asked to unlock their handsets before this facility be allowed.

With regard to 3G spectrum, they want DoT to drop its initial plan to restrict it to just three GSM-based operators with each getting 10 MHz each. Instead, they want to go by TRAI’s recommendations where six licences of 5 MHz each are issued per circle based on an auction process. This is because, while 5 MHz will make it impossible for a new player to enter the telecom market as it will require additional start-up spectrum, it will be enough for existing GSM players to migrate to 3G

[@ksh@T 20]

COAI walks out of spectrum panel

NEW DELHI: The tussle over spectrum took a new twist on Friday with the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the GSM-based operators’ lobby, pulling out of an official panel for reviewing the frequency allocation norms, alleging that the committee had a “predetermined mindset” and was ignoring all its suggestions.

“The Committee has either completely ignored our submissions or has cherry-picked our inputs and applied its own assumptions to arrive at incorrect conclusions without affording us any opportunity to refute the same,” T V Ramachandran, the nominee of GSM players, said in a letter on Friday to R Bandhopadhyay, chairman of the committee.

The committee was set up by the Department of Telecom (DoT) to evolve new subscriber-lined spectrum allocation norms after leading GSM operators had gone to court over both telecom regulator Trai recommendations and also the Telecom Engineering Centre’s report on this issue. Besides DoT Additional Secretary Bandhopadhyay, the committee includes wireless advisor to Department of Telecom, P K Garg; Prof Bhaskar Ramamurti, IIT-Chennai; and Dr Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi from IIT-Kanpur, among others.

“While the Committee has reputed academic and scientific authorities, it is most respectfully submitted that none of the Committee members have the required practical technical experience in running a cellular mobile network and it would be incorrect if this Committee too, were to review the criteria using only a theoretical approach.

It is apprehended that by refusing to involve network experts, the Committee would again be repeating the error made earlier, first by TRAI and then TEC. It is evident that the Committee is merely going through the motions of the process and is not intending or willing to either consider the inputs or address the concerns of the GSM industry, Mr Ramachandran added.

Responding to COAI’s move to pull out of this committee, the Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI), the body representing CDMA players said: “AUSPI is not surprised to learn that the COAI has decided to disassociate itself from the Spectrum committee constituted by the DOT to review spectrum allocation criteria in a scientific and practicable manner.

The committee itself was constituted because the COAI had been demanding repeatedly that the TEC criterion has been arrived at a non-transparent manner wherein COAI had not been associated. COAI has deliberately disassociated itself at the fag end of the committee’s deliberations when it is likely to give its final report.”

[@ksh@T 20]

RCom files 6 RTI applications on spectrum decisions

NEW DELHI: Within days of receiving permission to start GSM-based mobile services, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communication has sought information on various spectrum-related decisions taken in the past by the government.

The company has filed six applications through Right To Information (RTI) Act seeking information on whether Vodafone-Essar (earlier Hutch-Essar) and Bharti Airtel were allocated spectrum in 900 MHz band or 1800 MHz in West Bengal circle.

RCom has been saying that spectrum needs to be reframed between 900 and 1800 MHz bands as in the 900 band the capital expenditure is far less compared to that in the other band.

The telecom major, in his presentation to the spectrum review committee, had said that most of the spectrum in 900 MHz has been cornered by the dominant GSM players and this needs to be reframed among the new entrants.

In one of its RTI applications, the company has asked for information on the basis on which additional spectrum from 8 MHz to 10 MHz was allocated to the first and second operators in various circles and whether any one-time fee was charged from these players for the additional spectrum.

The applications have been filed by Bharat B Anand, President, Reliance Communications.

The company has got the licence to enter GSM-based mobile services as the government amended the Unified Access Service (UAS) license last week allowing dual technology (CDMA and GSM) for mobile services.