The Hindu Business Line : GSM players want Govt to drop plan for extra CDMA spectrum

THE Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has urged the Communication Ministry to reject the recommendations made by the telecom regulator on allocating additional spectrum to CDMA-based mobile operators.

In a letter to Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Minister for IT and Communication, the COAI said: "The CDMA operators stated in written submissions in court that CDMA is five times more efficient than GSM. Even TRAI, in its Consultation Paper, had stated that CDMA is `most efficient available technology' and that the CDMA networks had no congestion."

It added: "All the above effectively imply that GSM needs at least 25 Mhz to have level-playing field with CDMA. Thus, there can be no basis at all for diluting the present guidelines of the Government."

This is the first letter that COAI has written to the Government after TRAI announced its recommendations on spectrum issues.

TRAI had suggested that both CDMA and GSM operators be given equal amounts of radio frequency to provide a level-playing field.

However, the COAI said, "There is no justification whatsoever for CDMA operators to get any spectrum beyond 5 MhZ. In fact, in most places in India, they do not justify even three carriers and, rightfully speaking, should actually be surrendering some spectrum."

The GSM cellular operators have said that they are "aghast to note that TRAI is actually recommending a dilution of the Government's subscriber- linked spectrum allocation criteria for CDMA."

On the other hand, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) said: "The CDMA industry commends TRAI for their effort to balance the needs of all operators and technologies and to encourage operators to deploy more spectrally efficient technologies."

It added: "CDG welcomes TRAI's recommendation on the proposed revision of the current subscriber-based spectrum allocation criteria. This would help in removing the existing disparity and create much-needed level-playing conditions between CDMA and GSM."

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