The telecom regulator’s recommendations on spectrum pricing have completely ignored the future roadmap for CDMA based operators, according to Dmitry Shukov, Chief Executive Officer of Sistema Shyam Ltd.
The company, which offers CDMA-based mobile services under the MTS brand, is irked because it needs more spectrum in the 800 MHz band to offer 4G services but the TRAI proposal does not make any provisions for further allocations in this band to CDMA players.
‘unfair & discriminatory’
“TRAI’s recommendations are unfair, discriminatory and go against the spirit of providing a level playing field. TRAI has effectively blocked our future growth path in India,” Shukov told
However, TRAI has not made any recommendations on allocating more spectrum in this band for CDMA players. It has in fact proposed to give away parts of this band for GSM players.
“To say that 3.75 MHz spectrum within the 800MHz band is more than adequately capable of dealing with customers is incorrect. SSTL has already made it known publicly that its long-term plan is to offer LTE services in the country for which at least 5 MHz of contiguous spectrum is a must,” said Shukov. He said TRAI has gone against Government’s objective of encouraging broadband services by proposing to convert 800 MHz into extended band for GSM, which is an older technology compared to LTE.
Shukov added the TRAI’s decision to reduce pricing for next round of auction should also be applicable to 800 MHz band, which it had bought in March. The price of 1800 MHz spectrum has been proposed to be reduced by 40 per cent which means that Sistema would have had to pay Rs 1,440 crore lower than what it had paid then if the auctions were held based on the reserve price suggested by the TRAI. But TRAI has not proposed any reduction in price for 800 MHz band.
“SSTL has already invested over $3.6 billion in India. SSTL’s majority shareholder Sistema and given the 17 per cent investment made by the Russian government in the company– all of them are concerned at the way their investments are being treated in India,” Shukov said.
March auction
Sistema Shyam already burnt the initial investments made after the Supreme Court cancelled its licences post the 2G scam. The company was forced to participate in the spectrum auctions for the 800 MHz band in March to keep its operations running.
“The regulator needs to ensure that none of its recommendations are unfair and discriminatory. Telecom Operators investing in new age mobile networks like 3G and LTE need to be encouraged. We would also urge telecom department to look into all such issues,” Shukov said.