DoT secy to meet telecom players today

Telecom Secretary D S Mathur is understood to have called a meeting of all mobile operators on Monday in a bid to end the stalemate on the spectrum issue.

The rival camps of GSM and CDMA players have been at loggerheads ever since the Department of Telecom proposed new norms for allocating additional air waves, crucial for expanding services.

GSM players have opposed the new norms, while CDMA companies are demanding that GSM operators surrender excess spectrum that they are not using.

An official committee is currently reviewing the Telecom Engineering Centre's recommendations on the spectrum allocation norms, which recommended a 2-15 times hike in subscriber base for allocation of spectrum to mobile players.

Mathur met with CEOs of mobile companies ten days ago, but could not find a solution to the dispute.

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body of GSM operators in which Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular are members, has also challenged DoT's new telecom norms before the telecom tribunal TDSAT.