The Hindu Business Line : HFCL applies for 21 new unified access licences

The company put in its application with the Department of Telecom (DoT) on May 8. As of now, it has not indicated whether it wants to continue with the CDMA technology or shift to GSM in the new service areas.

At present, the company offers services under the Infotel brand and has over 3 lakh subscribers using CDMA and fixed line technologies.

HFCL's move comes after Idea Cellular, Spice Communication and Aircel applied for a pan-India licence. However, with DoT finding it difficult to allocate spectrum to existing operators, issuing new licences could take time.

Senior DoT officials said priority would be given to those who applied earlier. However, if HFCL opts for the CDMA spectrum, it will be first in the line as no other operator has sought new CDMA mobile licence. Only the existing operators, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communication, have sought additional spectrum in a few circles. In case HFCL opts for GSM technology, it might have to wait, as other applicants are in the queue. The group also has a separate manufacturing business, which had taken the licence from Qualcomm to produce CDMA handsets in India.

Decline in users

HFCL's telecom services plans have not taken off despite being in operation for over five years. While other operators are adding a few lakh subscribers every month, HFCL has seen a decline in its user base from 3.25 lakh in January to 3.17 lakh in April.

Analysts say the business case for single-circle operations is unviable in a sector that has large players with deep pockets. "Either HFCL must look to be acquired by a larger telecom company or it should look to expand on its own to get the scale required to survive," said a telecom analyst.