The Hindu Business Line : `India can adopt US model on sharing 1.9 Ghz band'

(From left) Mr David Gross, Coordinator US Information Policy; Mr Pradip Baijal, Chairman,Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; and Mr Firdose Vandrevala, Chairman, Tata Teleservices; at the inaugural of `Supercomm India 2005' in the Capital on Wednesday. - - Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , Feb. 2

THE US-based Qualcomm today said that GSM-based operators were wary of more competition from CDMA-based operators and therefore the opposition to sharing radio frequency in the 1900 Mhz band.

Dr Irwin Jacobs, CEO, said: "Using the 1900 Mhz band would enable CDMA operators to deploy cost-effective networks, thus keeping the cost of service affordable for consumers. The GSM operators are scared of more competition; therefore, they are trying to stop CDMA operators from getting space in the band."

A pioneer of the technology, he was speaking at a briefing held on the sidelines of Supercomm 2005.

Both operators in India are involved in a fierce battle over allocation of radio frequency for third generation service in the 1900 Mhz band.

Dr Jacobs also said that India could adopt the American model where both CDMA and GSM-based operators co-exist in the 1900 Mhz band.

He pressed for more radio frequency for CDMA operators since they have only half of the spectrum allocated to GSM-based operators.

Qualcomm plans to invest more in India and hire more in its two R&D centres in Bangalore and Mumbai, he added. "We are planning to hire for our R&D centres. We have 200 people right now. These centres also need capital investment."

Dr Jacobs said that the company will bring in modern chips to India, which would significantly reduce the cost of entry-level CDMA phones in the country.

The first of these phones will be in India in a few months. "The initial attempt would be to bring down the cost of the phone to below $50 at the operator level, after which some of the operators may subsidise the handsets."

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