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Kripa Raman

The row between the GSM and CDMA camps boils down to sharing spectrum space or the frequency band that can be allocated to them. Here's the nitty-gritty of the issue.

IT was thought that the introduction of the unified access service licence late last year had put an end to the bickering between the GSM and CDMA mobile camps in India. But the recent open sessions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on spectrum allocation saw them at loggerheads again. Representatives from both camps were getting more and more agitated with each succeeding session of the TRAI; finally it culminated in members of the Cellular Operators Association of India (which represents the GSM operators) walking out of the Delhi open session claiming they were upset at TRAI's stance on the issue. Availability of adequate spectrum to mobile service providers lies at the heart of their quality of service to consumers.

The main disagreement between the camps is to do with the allocation of spectrum in the 1900 MHz range. According to COAI, TRAI's consultation paper on the subject appeared to consider the use of this band for CDMA purposes. COAI contends that this would block GSM's transition to 3G (third generation mobile) services. T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, alleges that TRAI refused them permission to discuss the use of the US PCS (personal communication service, a generic term for a mass market mobile phone service) 1900 MHz band and instead asked them to make a separate presentation to the regulator on the issue. "We want to discuss it in an open forum," says Ramachandran. Instead, he says, they were asked to discuss the 450 MHz band for which GSM operators do not have infrastructure nor equipment in place.

How important the issue is — not just to India, but to the world GSM and CDMA industry — was highlighted by the fact that the COAI had flown down several international representatives from overseas, including Josef F Huber, Senior Spectrum Advisor from GSMA (which is the association of GSM operators and technology providers worldwide); while the CDMA Development Group (the corresponding world association for the CDMA industry) sent its own response to the TRAI consultation paper. And in addition, it was amply represented by Qualcomm (CDMA technology pioneer) India representatives as well as Tata Teleservices and Reliance Infocomm officials.

Both sides of the argument

"Worldwide, Japan, Europe, and Korea have arrived at a consensus that the core Band 1920 MHz and 1980 MHz, coupled with 2110 MHz and 2170 MHz, will be for 3G purposes," said Huber, speaking to eWorld on the sidelines of the open session in Mumbai. According to him, the only companies not part of this consensus were Qualcomm and a couple of vendors. He wants India to go the way of the consensus that the earlier group arrived at.

If CDMA gets the 1900 MHz band, the world core band will get cannibalised, he says. "We (GSM) do not want to cut away from our future." According to him, around 70 per cent of wireless users are GSM customers, worldwide the percentage being higher at 80. With such a large proportion of users being GSM, he says "it is in the interests of the Indian economy that spectrum allows us an evolution point. It is also important for the IT industry in India."

The CDMA Development Group (CDG), in an e-mail response from the US, disputed the existence of such a definite `core band' at all: "First of all, it should be understood that there is nothing called `core band' and this word has not been used anywhere by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). This is a term being coined by GSM supporters.

Says the CDG: "It was, and still is, the European view that the 1920-1980/2110-2170 bands should be globally harmonised for IMT 2000 or in particular UMTS, but there is no International Telecommunciation Union decision that mandates that to be the case, no matter how vehement the GSM lobby states otherwise. Therefore, if GSM players are trying to tell TRAI that India cannot go against a worldwide trend, they are not telling the truth."

(International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) is the global standard for third generation (3G) wireless communications, defined by a set of interdependent International Telecommunication Union Recommendations. IMT-2000 provides a framework for worldwide wireless access by linking the diverse systems of terrestrial and/or satellite based networks. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System or UMTS is a future mobile communications system which is one of the ITU's proposals for technologies for world standards for third generation mobile communications (IMT-2000)).

According to CDG, the trend is to recommend a policy of flexibility. "This is why the 3GPP (3rd generation partnership project) has already standardised 1800 MHz bands for UMTS and has been asked to quickly standardise even 900 MHz bands for UMTS. They want to provide flexibility to provide 3G in multiple bands. No one in ITU is insisting on one band for 3G."

What CDMA wants is for 1900 to be allotted to it in India. Says the CDG: "Globally, the CDMA systems are working in 800 - 1900 US PCS band and GSM systems work in 900 - 1800 MHz bands. In fact in some countries, such as the US, GSM and CDMA co-exist in the 1900 MHz band (US PCS band). Of course, they operate in different areas of the US PCS band. "It is clear, by all measures and by actual experience around the world, that the allocation of PCS 1900 spectrum to CDMA will not block the GSM migration to 3G. This is not just something that we are saying — it's what is in practice. Even the ITU recognises this fact — it is possible for CDMA2000 and WCDMA (an extension of GSM, actually) to co-exist in different parts of the ITU recognized IMT-2000 bands."

Currently GSM operators in India work in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands while CDMA operates in the 800 MHz band. CDMA equipment providers worldwide provide for 800 and 1900 bands and dual handsets are available which can operate seamlessly on both bands. If India follows some other system, then it will find it difficult to procure equipment?

"Can ease of procurement for one camp be the sole reason for eligibility for a particular spectrum?" asks one GSM representative. According to this camp, Korea CDMA operates on the 1800 MHz band and why cannot Indian CDMA too? "That means equipment is available." To which the CDG says: "In Korea, one operator has been allocated frequency in 800 MHz band and the other two operators have been allocated frequency in Korean PCS. Its important to point out that in Korea there is no operator having 800 and Korean PCS band. There are no dual band handsets in 800 MHz and Korean PCS band even after eight years or more of Korean CDMA implementation. All leading CDMA manufacturers of handsets and infrastructure have confirmed in writing that they do no have the handsets and infrastructure, which will work in 800 MHz and normal DCS 1800 MHz band. This is a critical issue. Therefore consideration is not of `ease of purchase' as alleged but that of availability from multiple vendors. Korean PCS frequency is not a standard band and we do not recommend it for use anywhere else in the world." (This is evident from the fact that manufacturers are not developing dual mode equipment for that band.)

But this slugfest over spectrum allocation may not be confined to the two warring camps. There are other technologies too asking to be considered, among them the home-grown cor-DECT technology. Midas Communications, which sells cor-DECT technology equipment, says in its submission to TRAI: "corDECT is designed and developed in India and manufactured by over eight entities in India and abroad, and also exported to over 15 countries. Making this band `Technology Neutral' would amount to making spectrum availability for corDECT installations in its `country of birth' more difficult, if not impossible. And would be a blow to indigenous technology development. "DECT air interface is internationally used in the band (1880-1935 Mhz, and no other band), on the other hand GSM and CDMA operation is supported in many possible bands. We quite appreciate the need for allocation of additional spectrum for the CDMA/GSM operations, but it should not be done at the expense of other technologies, which serve small towns and rural areas very effectively and strengthen India's technology development."

kripram@thehindu.co.in

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