The Hindu Business Line : CDMA group pushes for 1900 Mhz frequency allocation

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.

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