Tata Tele joins GSM lobby, rejects DoT offer

CDMA operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has joined the GSM lobby in rejecting the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) proposal for a compromise on the contentious spectrum issue.

Expressing discontent with the outcome of the meeting with the DoT, Anil Sardana, MD, TTSL, said: "It is very dismaying that the proposal again talks about spectrum allocation which is 2:1 in favour of GSM. It is this very cause which has pushed CDMA players to move towards GSM as frequency allocation to GSM has been very liberal."

"Additionally, for the same number of customers that TTL has now, some large GSM operators had more than double the spectrum when they held the same amount of customers by virtue of which such GSM operators have saved thousands of crore of capital investments."

Apart from Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and HFCL are the other players in the CDMA space. The DoT in a compromise formula had suggested that operators accept the regulators' recommendation on a hike in subscriber criterion for allocation of spectrum.

It had suggested the capping of spectrum to GSM operators at 10 Mhz and at 5 Mhz for CDMA operators. Spectrum beyond this level had to be paid for on the basis of a recommendation by the regulator.

However, supporting the Anil Ambani stance, TTSL has asked for the surrender of additional spectrum beyond the contractual amount of 6.2 Mhz. It has said that their spectrum should be given to the crossover technology operator, new operators and operators waiting spectrum since December 2006.

Questioning the argument put forward by some quarters that GSM operators need not return excess spectrum but be given time to reach those subscriber numbers, TTSL in its release says, "We were shocked to listen to the opinion expressed on this matter. While Tata Teleservices was asked to surrender spectrum in 2004 and it did return, the view now being expressed is that operators with higher spectrum would be given adequate time to reach up to the new subscriber norms or else return."

It adds that if such is the condition being favoured to a few, why can't all the operators be similarly given extra spectrum to achieve similar subscriber norms.

Unlike most of the other government wings, letting a few of the operators retain the extra spectrum for the next few years till they achieve the revised subscriber norms is absolutely laying the red carpet for a few, while for others, the road is full of difficulties, TTSL adds.