Government mulls change in spectrum allocation method

The government is considering the allocation of additional spectrum to mobile telecom players based on the number of calls originating from their network instead of the subscriber base.

"There are various suggestions, one of which under consideration is to change the criterion for allocating spectrum from being subscriber-linked to one based on the origin of calls," Minister of State for Communication Shakeel Ahmad said, on the sidelines of a summit on Wimax.

Spectrum allocation criteria have been the bone of contention between GSM and CDMA operators and both the lobbies are trying to get hold of scarce airwaves to enhance their services.

The GSM lobby includes players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, while Reliance Communication and Tata Teleservices are the main CDMA players.

Ahmad said there had been numerous complaints on players showing "inflated number" of subscribers to get more spectrum and this practice needed to be checked. It is pertinent to note that this issue was raised about two years ago by Ratan Tata.

Most GSM players had criticised the observation of Tata, who had also recommended an independent audit of the number of subscribers announced by each operator.

Earlier, while addressing the Wimax seminar, the minister asked the telecom service providers to use spectrum efficiently. He said we were still in discussions with the defence ministry for release of more spectrum. Wimax would bring down the cost of broadband access and ensure inter-operability, he added.

"With higher bandwidth, broadband Internet can make education, healthcare, agriculture more accessible," Ahmad said.