Govt. To Announce technology neutral Policy

[Arun 795]

Sify.com

Wednesday, 23 June , 2004

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is set to allocate additional radio frequency to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) based mobile operators only if the operators have a minimum subscriber base of four lakh in metro circles and between five lakh and seven lakh subscribers in non-metro areas.

The policy is in line with the spectrum allocation plan followed in the case of GSM (Global System for Mobile) based cellular operators who are also given fresh radio frequency upon reaching a specified user base.

CDMA-based operators are, however, not too happy with the move since the operators have not reached the prescribed subscriber limit in most circles. Reliance Infocomm would probably be the only operator to get fresh spectrum and that too, only in metro circles where it has got more than four lakh subscribers.

At present, CDMA operators are given 2.5 Mhz of radio frequency. The CDMA operators have been demanding that their share should be increased to the levels of GSM-based cellular operators, which get an average of 6.2 Mhz per circle.

As per the decision taken by the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) wing of the DoT, CDMA operators will be allocated radio frequency in two phases. The first phase would be released when the operators attain a subscriber base of four lakh in metros circles, seven lakh in Circle A States, 5 lakh in Circle B States, and four lakh in Circle C States. The second chunk would be released once the operators reach a subscriber base of eight lakh in metro circle, 14 lakh in Circle A States, 10 lakh in Circle B States, and eight lakh in Circle C States.

DoT had set up a special committee under a Member (Technology) of the Telecom Commission for working out the details. The decision taken by the committee will be vetted by the full Telecom Commission.

Meanwhile, the Association of Basic Telecom Operators has shot off a note to the Chairman, Telecom Commission, that the industry was not consulted before arriving at the spectrum allocation formula. It has also said that since the telecom regulator was also looking into spectrum related issues, the move by DoT would "amount to subverting the consultation process and making any recommendations infructuous."

Tata Teleservices, the second largest CDMA operator in the country, has also written to DoT saying that the decision of the WPC was a matter of great concern.

[MasterMind 0]

Is this 'good' or 'bad' for the end users?

[biosbhai 0]

Being an electronics student, I think having better bandwidth will lead to less skipping in voice calls and better data transfer rates especially if Reliance rolls out the EVDO feature of the RD7230 set.

[Arun 795]

The row between the GSM and CDMA camps boils down to sharing spectrum space or the frequency band that can be allocated to them. Here's the nitty-gritty of the issue.

The Hindu Business Line

Monday, Sep 20, 2004

IT was thought that the introduction of the unified access service licence late last year had put an end to the bickering between the GSM and CDMA mobile camps in India. But the recent open sessions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on spectrum allocation saw them at loggerheads again. Representatives from both camps were getting more and more agitated with each succeeding session of the TRAI; finally it culminated in members of the Cellular Operators Association of India (which represents the GSM operators) walking out of the Delhi open session claiming they were upset at TRAI's stance on the issue. Availability of adequate spectrum to mobile service providers lies at the heart of their quality of service to consumers.

The main disagreement between the camps is to do with the allocation of spectrum in the 1900 MHz range. According to COAI, TRAI's consultation paper on the subject appeared to consider the use of this band for CDMA purposes. COAI contends that this would block GSM's transition to 3G (third generation mobile) services. T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, alleges that TRAI refused them permission to discuss the use of the US PCS (personal communication service, a generic term for a mass market mobile phone service) 1900 MHz band and instead asked them to make a separate presentation to the regulator on the issue. "We want to discuss it in an open forum," says Ramachandran. Instead, he says, they were asked to discuss the 450 MHz band for which GSM operators do not have infrastructure nor equipment in place.

How important the issue is — not just to India, but to the world GSM and CDMA industry — was highlighted by the fact that the COAI had flown down several international representatives from overseas, including Josef F Huber, Senior Spectrum Advisor from GSMA (which is the association of GSM operators and technology providers worldwide); while the CDMA Development Group (the corresponding world association for the CDMA industry) sent its own response to the TRAI consultation paper. And in addition, it was amply represented by Qualcomm (CDMA technology pioneer) India representatives as well as Tata Teleservices and Reliance Infocomm officials.

Both sides of the argument

"Worldwide, Japan, Europe, and Korea have arrived at a consensus that the core Band 1920 MHz and 1980 MHz, coupled with 2110 MHz and 2170 MHz, will be for 3G purposes," said Huber, speaking to eWorld on the sidelines of the open session in Mumbai. According to him, the only companies not part of this consensus were Qualcomm and a couple of vendors. He wants India to go the way of the consensus that the earlier group arrived at.

If CDMA gets the 1900 MHz band, the world core band will get cannibalised, he says. "We (GSM) do not want to cut away from our future." According to him, around 70 per cent of wireless users are GSM customers, worldwide the percentage being higher at 80. With such a large proportion of users being GSM, he says "it is in the interests of the Indian economy that spectrum allows us an evolution point. It is also important for the IT industry in India."

The CDMA Development Group (CDG), in an e-mail response from the US, disputed the existence of such a definite `core band' at all: "First of all, it should be understood that there is nothing called `core band' and this word has not been used anywhere by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). This is a term being coined by GSM supporters.

Says the CDG: "It was, and still is, the European view that the 1920-1980/2110-2170 bands should be globally harmonised for IMT 2000 or in particular UMTS, but there is no International Telecommunciation Union decision that mandates that to be the case, no matter how vehement the GSM lobby states otherwise. Therefore, if GSM players are trying to tell TRAI that India cannot go against a worldwide trend, they are not telling the truth."

(International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) is the global standard for third generation (3G) wireless communications, defined by a set of interdependent International Telecommunication Union Recommendations. IMT-2000 provides a framework for worldwide wireless access by linking the diverse systems of terrestrial and/or satellite based networks. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or UMTS is a future mobile communications system which is one of the ITU's proposals for technologies for world standards for third generation mobile communications (IMT-2000)).

According to CDG, the trend is to recommend a policy of flexibility. "This is why the 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) has already standardised 1800 MHz bands for UMTS and has been asked to quickly standardise even 900 MHz bands for UMTS. They want to provide flexibility to provide 3G in multiple bands. No one in ITU is insisting on one band for 3G."

What CDMA wants is for 1900 to be allotted to it in India. Says the CDG: "Globally, the CDMA systems are working in 800 - 1900 US PCS band and GSM systems work in 900 - 1800 MHz bands. In fact in some countries, such as the US, GSM and CDMA co-exist in the 1900 MHz band (US PCS band). Of course, they operate in different areas of the US PCS band. "It is clear, by all measures and by actual experience around the world, that the allocation of PCS 1900 spectrum to CDMA will not block the GSM migration to 3G. This is not just something that we are saying — it's what is in practice. Even the ITU recognises this fact — it is possible for CDMA2000 and WCDMA (an extension of GSM, actually) to co-exist in different parts of the ITU recognized IMT-2000 bands."

Currently GSM operators in India work in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands while CDMA operates in the 800 MHz band. CDMA equipment providers worldwide provide for 800 and 1900 bands and dual handsets are available which can operate seamlessly on both bands. If India follows some other system, then it will find it difficult to procure equipment?

"Can ease of procurement for one camp be the sole reason for eligibility for a particular spectrum?" asks one GSM representative. According to this camp, Korea CDMA operates on the 1800 MHz band and why cannot Indian CDMA too? "That means equipment is available." To which the CDG says: "In Korea, one operator has been allocated frequency in 800 MHz band and the other two operators have been allocated frequency in Korean PCS. Its important to point out that in Korea there is no operator having 800 and Korean PCS band. There are no dual band handsets in 800 MHz and Korean PCS band even after eight years or more of Korean CDMA implementation. All leading CDMA manufacturers of handsets and infrastructure have confirmed in writing that they do no have the handsets and infrastructure, which will work in 800 MHz and normal DCS 1800 MHz band. This is a critical issue. Therefore consideration is not of `ease of purchase' as alleged but that of availability from multiple vendors. Korean PCS frequency is not a standard band and we do not recommend it for use anywhere else in the world." (This is evident from the fact that manufacturers are not developing dual mode equipment for that band.)

But this slugfest over spectrum allocation may not be confined to the two warring camps. There are other technologies too asking to be considered, among them the home-grown cor-DECT technology. Midas Communications, which sells cor-DECT technology equipment, says in its submission to TRAI: "corDECT is designed and developed in India and manufactured by over eight entities in India and abroad, and also exported to over 15 countries. Making this band `Technology Neutral' would amount to making spectrum availability for corDECT installations in its `country of birth' more difficult, if not impossible. And would be a blow to indigenous technology development. "DECT air interface is internationally used in the band (1880-1935 Mhz, and no other band), on the other hand GSM and CDMA operation is supported in many possible bands. We quite appreciate the need for allocation of additional spectrum for the CDMA/GSM operations, but it should not be done at the expense of other technologies, which serve small towns and rural areas very effectively and strengthen India's technology development."

[city02 63]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/866404.cms

SINGAPORE: The GSM Association, a union of 650 GSM mobile phone service operators, on Tuesday asked government not to allocate spectrum at 1900 MHz to CDMA operators like Reliance as it would restrict the ability of mobile users to roam internationally.

The GSMA urged India to maintain its alignment with the global community and protect the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) recommended IMT 2000 core band for Third Generation (3G) mobile services.

"India's regulatory environment has been inconsistent. India, a member of ITU, had previously accepted to reserve spectrum frequencies of 1920-1980 MHz and 2110-2170 MHz for 3G mobile services. Now the regulator (Trai) wants to slice a part of this and allocate it to Second Generation (2G) operators. GSMA chairman Craig Ehrlich told reporters here.

"This will undermine growth of telecommunications and restrict international roaming," he said.

The GSMA is asking CEOs of all its member phone companies around the world to write to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to stop it from doing so.

"Except for US, the 1900 MHz spectrum frequency is used for 3G in all the countries. US has been out of step in spectrum allocation for the past 10 years. Operators in US can't roam," he said.

Ehrlich said the GSMA had no issues with CDMA operators getting more spectrum but the current proposal of TRAI was infringement of 3G.

[Mr.Optimist 0]

World Markets Research Centre

Government to Announce 'Technology Neutral' Spectrum Policy in India

November 22, 2004

The DoT has announced that it will adopt a 'technology neutral' policy to radio spectrum allocation, which will mark a win for the CDMA operators.

WMRC Perspective

Significance A 'technology neutral' approach will signify a loss for the country's GSM operators, who have been lobbying for exclusive rights to the 1900Mhz band for 3G services.

Implications The ruling will mean that the market's CDMA players will be able to apply for extra bandwidth in the 1900Mhz band.

Outlook A 'technology neutral' regime will be help bolster growth rates in the mobile sector, allowing CDMA operators to carry on expanding their networks.

Technology Neutral Spectrum Policy

After months of lobbying from both the GSM and CDMA mobile operators of India over the 1900Mhz spectrum band, the DoT has announced that it will introduce a 'technology neutral' policy for radio spectrum allocation. The new automated regime will be introduced by December 2004. The forthcoming regime will be introduced despite lobbying from the GSMA that the frequency band ought to be set aside exclusively for GSM-based 3G mobile data networks. Indeed, according to the National Frequency Plan of India, the 1920-1980MHz band is currently reserved for 3G services (along with the 2110-2170MHz band). To push the issue further, the operators have already applied for 3G licences.

Outlook and Implications

A Win for the CDMA Operators: The announcement heralds a win for the country's CDMA players. The operators, led by mobile market leader Reliance, have been lobbying hard for a portion of the 1900 Mhz band as a means of upping their capacity. The country's CDMA operators were originally issued with just 2.5MHz of the 800-frequency band when they began operating. The maximum allocation reserved for each CDMA player (per circle) is just 5MHz. In contrast, most GSM operators currently operate with 6.2MHz of spectrum, while some have been allocated up to 10MHz. As the 1900MHz band is one of the most commonly used bands for CDMA players the world over, the operators have been lobbying for a portion of this band.

A Boost to Market Growth: Allowing CDMA operators access to the 1900 band will no doubt provide extra impetus to their network investment plans. Expansion of CDMA services has been the key market growth driver in 2004, as price cuts and new lines introduced, primarily by Reliance Infocomm, have triggered similar moves by GSM operators. This is not something that the government has any intention of limiting, given the low telephony penetration levels in India (at approximately 7% at June 2004), and a government mandate to double teledensity (mobile and fixed lines) over the next two years. As for the mobile data future of India, given that both GSM and CDMA players are already investing in and offering data services indicates that opening the 1900 band to both technologies will not mean insufficient capacity for higher end services.

[AmanJ 1]

Spectrum spat before Trai

- Reliance, Tata Indicom to appeal against freeze

M. RAJENDRAN | The Telegraph

New Delhi, Jan. 2: Telecom operators using code division multiple access (CDMA) technology like Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom will approach the telecom regulator against the directive by the Wireless Planning Commission (WPC) that blocks issue of any additional spectrum unless they meet subscriber targets using the existing spectrum available with them.

Spectrum are airwaves on which the calls and data travel that we send and receive from our telephones, mobile and internet.

The WPC in an order issued on December 10 has pointed out that CDMA operators’ existing subscriber base does not justify their demand for additional spectrum beyond 5 megahertz (Mhz). The WPC is a nodal agency of the communications ministry that recommends the allocation of spectrum.

The Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI) led by Reliance Infocomm has been making several submissions to the government, including the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Trai), regarding inadequate spectrum assigned to them to meet even their present growth requirements.

The association had also said additional spectrum for their immediate requirements should be made available only in the USPCS 1850 - 1910 / 1930 - 1990 band, citing reasons of equipment availability and handsets that are compatible with their existing networks.

Now, the two major operators — Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom — are on their backfoot and have sought Trai’s intervention to help quash the directive from the WPC.

A senior official in the communications ministry pointed that the operators did not meet rural obligations and the Unified Access Service Licence had given them a free hand in removing the rural obligation.

“Now they do not want to offer service to the common people but are interested in making fast cash by offering high-end services to corporate customers. It seems the demand for spectrum is aimed to offer high-speed wireless services to business customers and not to offer connections to individuals,” said a WPC official.

“It is clearly evident from the subscriber figures of the CDMA operators (see chart) that they do not justify the demand for additional spectrum beyond 5 Mhz,” said the official.

According to the WPC directive and the licence conditions, each operator is required to have 12 lakh (circle A — Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai and Mumbai ), 10 lakh (circle B — major cities like Pune, Indore, Ahemdabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad) and 5 lakh (circle C — smaller towns and cities) subscribers.

Since the two players had secured licences as fourth operators, the allocation was increased from 3.75 Mhz to 5 MHz and their capacity to add subscribers will be around 20 lakh in A circle and correspondingly increase in B and C circles as well, said the official.

Senior officials also pointed out that among the four metros, only Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has been assigned the additional 5 Mhz spectrum. As a result, additional 15 MHz is still available for the two CDMA-based operators in Delhi and Mumbai.

Sources said, “It will cater up to 51 lakh subscribers (17 lakh per 5 MHz; thus 17 x 3 = 51 lakh). Hence, more than adequate spectrum is available in the existing 800 / 850 MHz band for catering to the requirements of private CDMA operators even in Delhi and Mumbai metros for a substantial period of time.”

Edited January 3, 2005 by Chirag

[sherry 0]

Does the allocation of more spectrum (1900MHz) for CDMA operators will make the existing handsets incompatible?

[StaticElectricity 8]

no, it'll just increase the bandwith for CDMA phones, because with the allocation of new band, the old band wont be removed.

something like tri-band GSM phones.

[jusmail 0]

Hey pose questions in appropriate fora

[kartikeyamishra 0]

simply put, reliance will get more spectrum for its services, However this spectrum can only be used by phones which support the 1900 Mhz band.

[Utsav 0]

What is the Spectrum we are using now with current handsets?

[vb86 0]

it will also enable reliance to upgrade their network to ev-do as the current spectrum allocated doesn't seem sufficient for upgradation.

[AmanJ 1]

What is the Spectrum we are using now with current handsets?

i think the current spectrum used is 800

[linuxguy 0]

No, 900, 1800, 1900MHz. And we are currently using 900MHz or 1800MHz

Edited January 11, 2005 by linuxguy

[deepu 0]

simply put, reliance will get more spectrum for its services, However this spectrum can only be used by phones which support the 1900 Mhz band.

23831[/snapback]

Does all the current phones support 1900 Mhz band.

[vb86 0]

No, 900, 1800, 1900MHz. And we are currently using 900MHz or 1800MHz

23893[/snapback]

as far as i know.. the cdma operators are on 800mhz and gsm are on 900 & 1800 mhz.

[Arun 795]

CDMA group pushes for 1900 Mhz frequency allocation

The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi , Feb. 23

THE Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)-based mobile phone service providers and equipment suppliers on Wednesday came together to push for allocation of additional frequency in 1900 Mhz. At a joint press conference, attended by representatives from Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices, Ericsson, Nortel, Lucent, Qualcomm and LG, the CDMA Development Group urged the Government to follow global standards while allocating radio frequency.

"We want 1900 Mhz frequency, which is a world standard. Any other frequency will be unique to India which will not be growth of CDMA in India," said Mr B.B. Anand, President, Regulatory Affairs, Reliance Infocomm. These companies form part of the CDMA Development Group.

The debate revolves around the allocation of the 1900-Mhz radio frequency band for both CDMA operators and Global System for Mobile (GSM) based operators. While CDMA operators say that offering services in any other band would make the business unviable, GSM operators have expressed concerns of interference if the band was shared.

Mr Eshwar Pittampalli from Lucent said that world over, CDMA mobile service providers operate in 800 Mhz and 1900 Mhz frequency and if some other frequency is provided to Indian operators it would push up the cost of equipment and handsets.

"Spectrum should be allocated fairly in line with the global standards so that consumers will benefit," said Mr Greg Young, Chief of Network and Value Added Services, Tata Teleservices.

However, manufacturers of both GSM and CDMA technology equipment were non-committal in their stance. Mr Rajan Mehta from Nortel said that both GSM and CDMA mobile service providers need additional spectrum and it should be provided to them. Ericsson also said that it would not take sides in the ongoing debate and would go with the decision taken by the Government.

[mrasool 0]

Yes vb86 is right. We in India and every other country that have CDMA operators have used 800 MHz band natively. The 1900 MHz band was introduced later.

All CDMA based mobile and WLL-M operators in India , i.e. RIM , Tata Indicom , Garuda(MTNL), Tarang(BSNL),CityMobile(Shyam Telelink Ltd.) & ConnectMobile (HFCL Infotel Ltd.) use the 800 MHz band. And the GSM operators use the 900 & 1800 MHz bands.

And RIM is currently testing the CDMA2000 1x EV-DO service over the 1900 MHz band and plans to commercially launch the service in Dec 2005 (If DoT allots them the 1900 MHz band).

Eagerly waiting for that service. It has a maximum theoretical speed of 2.4 Mbps and gives real throughput of around 600 Kbps.

[vb86 0]

The policy that will determine the future of mobile services in India is set to be released on friday. It seems that the conrovertial 1900mhz band moght not be open for 3g services after all. TRAI is planning to open the IMT2000 band for 3g and cdma will be given the 450mhz band for their services(which they are protesting against). Also note, an extra carrier will enable them to provide ev-do which seems to be the only hurdle at the moment.

Here is an article on the 450mhz band:

As the first version of CDMA to break into Europe, CDMA 450 and its 50-kilometer cells may yet find its place in the sun. But the standard badly needs phones, and a roaming deal or two wouldn’t go astray either

WHAT IT IS

CDMA 450 is cdma2000 technology deployed in the 450-MHz range, now operating in more than 20 markets worldwide.

THE SPIEL

The CDMA 450 proposition is that it is a highly efficient – if not the most efficient – 2.5G-3G technology, capable of covering a lot of ground and a lot of customers at probably the lowest cost.

The 450-MHz band is a very stable and efficient frequency for cellular – much more so than the 1.9- to 2.1-GHz ranges allocated to 3G services. The lower frequency range means larger cell sizes – up to 50 or 60 kilometers in radius, and thus fewer cellsites and a lower deployment cost. That’s ideal for rural areas with low to medium density, although most deployments to date have been for mass-market mobile service in eastern Europe and the CIS. 

Huawei Technologies estimates that CDMA 450 costs as little as one-tenth of a wireline network deployment in China – 2,000 yuan ($236) compared with 10,000-20,000 yuan for an in-ground local access service.

On a herz-by-herz basis it could be seven to eight times cheaper than a GSM system, although in this particular frequency band that’s an academic comparison only. The ITU and the European vendor community began working on GSM 450 in 1999, yet the standard never went anywhere; apart from anything else, it just didn’t have the capacity and the data speed to support fixed wireless services.

Most importantly, 450-MHz is an official ITU band for cellular, and in Europe there’s a good deal of 450 spectrum already allocated to cellular, dating back to the days of the Nordic analog standard NMT.

WHAT IT DOES

CDMA 450 boosters point to its broad functionality. It can support IP-based push-to-talk, APGS location-based services, BREW and Java. It can theoretically serve rural areas as a fixed wireless deployment for voice or even as a DSL alternative. It offers 3G speeds, of up to 2.4 Mbps, according to Lucent business development director Peter C. Gorham.

Alternatively it can be built out in urban centers for consumer cellular, or it can be a public access mobile radio (PAMR) solution.

This flexibility means it can target verticals or become an option for consumer market deployment, especially for new operators or operators converting from old analog 450 licenses.

Its biggest advantage, as Gorham puts it, is “coverage, coverage and more coverage.” A cell size is typically 50-60 km (or even 120 km, in one case off the New Zealand coast). By comparison, W-CDMA cell sizes are a puny 1 or 2 km in radius.

THE HANDSET PROBLEM

Like every other new technology CDMA 450 lacks scale, particularly when compared to W-CDMA. A mobile technology that lacks scale lacks handsets.

A GSM customer typically has the choice of more than 200 handsets from a dozen or more vendors, ranging from basic gray-screen display to 65,000 colors with Java, GPRS and a camera.

Despite the claims by the CDMA Development Group that CDMA has the economies of scale to support the development of CDMA 450, the world’s handset leaders haven’t exactly rushed into the market.

The main vendors today are Synertek and Curitel of Korea, and Huawei and ZTE of China, along with fixed wireless handset maker Axcesstel.

CDMA 450 operators complain they are mostly having to offer gray-scale phones at twice the price of GSM. The first color screen models have only just hit the market.

Bulgaria’s Mobikom, aiming to launch a mass-market 450 service later this year, has had commitments from five to six handset vendors. Marketing manager Liubov Kirilova told Wireless Asia she had had “promises” from many vendors that never delivered – simply because the market scale is just not there yet.

The market is trending the right way, though, says Paul Calcott, COO of Inquam, which has launched 450 services in Romania and Portugal.

He says the wholesale prices have come down “dramatically” in the last two years.

The other problem is that like the rest of the CDMA sector, 450 suffers from a cumbersome global handset testing process. Gennady Golant, general manager of Delta Telecom, Russia, says the testing and approval time takes three to four months.

THE SPECTRUM PROBLEM

The good thing about spectrum for 450 is that it is already an official ITU cellular band. The bad thing is that it is usually available only in tiny slices. Usually about 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 MHz at a time, compared with the giant swathes of 2 x 10 or 2 x 15 MHz for W-CDMA. That makes it hard to build a genuine mass-market service, as Inquam’s Calcott has pointed out. Thus operators tend to chase discrete market segments. In the case of Russia’s Delta Telecom, its market is business users who need a mobile data service, with 95% choosing the unlimited package at $72 a month.

The other spectrum problem is that 450 is off-limits in what could be one of its natural markets, China, where it is reserved for military purposes. A “trial” network operates in Tibet, with 80,000 users. Any decision to deploy CDMA 450 is caught up in the politics of China’s 3G decision, involving the carriers, the MII, local and foreign vendors, and lobbyists from both the US and the EU. MII chief Wang Xudong confirmed last month that the MII is in no hurry to adopt any 3G standard.

THE ROAMING PROBLEM

Roaming is essential to the 450 community, as a small standard lacking broad native coverage of its own. But this is where it gets caught up in the internecine battles between the CDMA and GSM camps. CDMA’s weakness over the years has been roaming. Whereas GSM phones are built with a unique IMEI identifier that supports automatic roaming, CDMA networks have had to add on their own roaming tables and solutions.

Two solutions are on offer. One, pioneered by China Unicom, is the CDMA SIM card, known as the R-UIM. This enables users to churn between the standards while keeping their numbers and other data on the card. Delta Telecom has a provisional agreement with a Russian GSM operator, but there is no commercial 450-GSM roaming service. One reason is the opposition of the GSM community: GSM Association chairman Craig Ehrlich has called on operators not to support 450 roaming.

The other, driven by Qualcomm, is to put all the standards on a single chipset. The first such phone, the A840, was launched by Motorola in March. That’s for CDMA in the 800 range, and no handset vendor has yet volunteered to make the GSM-CDMA 450 version.

INDUSTRY BUZZ

The good news for CDMA 450 is threefold. One is that, after some successful launches (i.e., the technology works), in Europe, it has some momentum going for it. Tinatin Margalitadze, general manager of IberiaTel in Georgia, says a year ago she was having to explain to financiers and investors just what CDMA 450 was. That’s not the case today, and now, several months ahead of launch, IberiaTel has several investors to choose from.

CDMA 450 also marks the CDMA world’s breakthrough into Europe, where the opportunity is in fixed wireless, mobile radio and even as a complement to 3G.

Finally, Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE are putting their weight behind the standard, making infrastructure and in particular the phones. Though their home market is not open to them, they provide the size and the marketing channels that 450 needs.

*************************

Operators in service

Belcel, Belarus

CCB, Russia

Delta Telecom (Skylink), Russia

Electric, Vietnam

Eurotel, Czech Republic

Mobisel, Indonesia

Moscow Cellular, Russia

Nizhnevartovsk, Russia

Telecom Baltija, Latvia

Telecom Kenya, Kenya

Telemobil (Zap), Romania

Uzbek Telecom, Uzbekistan

Volga Telecom, Russia

Buying, building

IberiaTel, Georgia

Inquam, Portugal

Mobikom, Bulgaria

Trials

Anatel, Brazil

China Telecom, China

China Netcom, China

[mrasool 0]

Thanks vb86 for giving us the exact date for the spectrum policy form TRAI. Where did you get that date from ? Some newspaper or you know somebody at TRAI House ?

Yes TRAI is considering allocating chunks from the 450 MHz (European-analog band) and 1800 MHz (European-GSM and Korean-CDMA2000 1x band) for the CDMA2000 1x and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO services. But only one member from the TRAI council is objecting to the allocation of frequency in the 1900 MHz band for the CDMA operators.

If USA and Canada can have both GSM/GPRS and CDMA2000 1x operators in the 1900 MHz band, why can't we ? They must have also faced the same issues, but did sort them out.

And by the way CDMA2000 1x and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO are as much an IMT2000 3G service as WCDMA. So both CDMA and GSM operators have equal rights at the 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz bands for 3G services.

We at present shouldn't get 450 MHz or 1800 MHz(used only in Korea for CDMA services) for CDMA operators because it will really stunt their growth due to the lack of equipment and handsets.

Therefore i request everybody here to send an e-mail to TRAI asking them to use the US-Canada model to allocate frequencies for both CDMA2000 1x and WCDMA in the 1900 MHz band. The e-mail ID is trai@del2.vsnl.net.in and the telefax number is 011-2610 3294

[deepu 0]

Policy gives Reliance 3G edge

Joji Thomas Philip & Surajeet Das Gupta in New Delhi | May 11, 2005 09:12 IST

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's draft spectrum policy has proposed that the country's largest code division multiple access operator, Reliance Infocomm, be given additional spectrum to offer 3G-equivalent services.

On the other hand, the second largest CDMA player, Tata Teleservices, and global system for mobiles (GSM) operators like Bharti, Hutch and Idea are proposed to be allotted frequencies that cannot initially be used for offering third-generation (3G) mobile services.

It comes with another rider that the 2x15MHz 900 and 1800 bands will be made available once the defence services vacate the frequencies.

While refusing to comment on the draft, Trai officials said the existing paper was being reworked and changes were likely to be made before the policy was released on Friday.

The draft in its present form will benefit Reliance Infocomm, which can offer Evolution Data Only (EVDO) services, the equivalent of 3G for GSM operators, once it is allotted 2.5 units of additional spectrum.

Tata Teleservices, Bharti, Hutch and Idea will have to wait until December 2006 when the IMT 2000 band is made available for offering 3G services like streaming video and interactive radio on cellular handsets. Each operator is proposed to be given 2x10 MHz of IMT 2000.

The draft also proposes that players like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Reliance and Bharti, which are in both the CDMA and GSM business, be treated as a single entity for IMT 2000 allocation.

The announcement of the policy has been delayed because Trai officials are divided over the issue as well as by the pressure from the GSM and the CDMA lobbies.

"CDMA operators already have plenty of spectrum to spare. As separate dedicated carriers are needed to roll out EVDO, the two additional carriers will provide the largest CDMA operator plenty of additional space to roll out next generation services, while we will be forced to wait for the same until December 2006," said an executive with a leading GSM player.

When asked to comment on the draft recommendations, TV Ramachandran, director-general, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM players said: "The regulator's move has helped secure a backdoor entry into 3G for the largest CDMA player. This will further benefit the first backdoor entrant into 3G through the EVDO route and it will have a tremendous first mover advantage. The WLL history is going to repeat itself."

In an internal communication to its members, the COAI said, "The recommendations are against the government policy guidelines which state that additional spectrum should be allotted on the basis of subscriber numbers alone. CDMA operators do not have any justification for even 5 MHz of spectrum in any service area except Delhi, where Reliance has just become entitled to 5MHz and is eligible for another carrier only after one year or more."

# Freeing the frequencies The regulator has recommended that existing mobile operators get 3G spectrum at no additional cost

# Ceiling on annual spectrum charges to be reduced from 6% of the adjusted gross revenue to 4%

# Before spectrum is assigned to new service providers, existing players must have adequate spectrum

# Spectrum should be provided as and when available, no reserves to be kept

# CDMA players to be provided extra spectrum in 450 MHz and 1800 MHz on demand

Courtesy - rediff.com

[rakesh5295 0]

if the spectrum policy is announced then i think now relaince to start evdo as it has allready said it was ready with it and need the spectrum policy to come out. what u guys say?

[deepu 0]

The tussle between Ambani Bhais may delay it a bit!!!

Anyway it is surely going to give a huge edge for Reliance over other service providers!!!!

[vb86 0]

Allocation in the 450mhz band is bound to make the choice of handsets limited and costlier. COAI is certainly making sure that reliance doesn't get away with everything. How do both CDMA and GSM exist in the 1900 band is COAI says it causes inteference on GSM networks? Another problem is, the defence hasn't yet vacated the 1900mhz band.