Anil now joins war of words over spectrum

Calls GSM players ‘anti-consumer’ for raising tariffs

NEW DELHI: It was the turn of Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani on Monday to speak out against the ‘propaganda’ by global system for mobile communications (GSM) players on licensing and spectrum issues.

The chief of the code division multiple access (CDMA) major even called GSM players ‘anti-consumer’ for increasing tariffs in recent months.

On the government permitting dual technology, Ambani said the policy was in line with the regulator’s recommendation, and that he had paid the requisite fee (Rs 1,650 crore) for pan-India GSM licences.

This is for the first time after Reliance Communications got government nod to offer GSM services, more than two weeks ago, that Ambani has spoken on the matter.

Last week, Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal wrote a strongly worded letter to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) secretary DS Mathur, attacking the government move to toughen the subscriber-linked criteria for spectrum allocation.

Mittal had dared the two state-owned telcos, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), to roll out model networks with limited spectrum.

In response, BSNL said that the spectrum that it has is not in excess and that there’s no case for surrender. MTNL, on the other hand, attacked private operators for placing it at a disadvantage at the time of starting mobile telephony.

To top it all, communications minister A Raja wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that the allegations by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents GSM players, are baseless, and that the government policy was meant to increase teledensity in the country and roll out affordable services.

While Mittal met the DoT secretary on Monday over the raging spectrum issue, Ambani told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Mumbai,

“When you look at the propaganda by COAI, the reality is something that they do not want to recognise. The reality is that the licences are technology- neutral and they were upheld by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and recommended to the DoT.”

Ambani was referring to the government allowing the use of dual technology across the same service areas. Reliance Communications is seen as the biggest beneficiary of the dual technology norm.

On the issue of COAI petition in TDSAT (telecom dispute tribunal) against the DoT licensing norms, Ambani pointed out that the COAI action is not representative of the Indian mobile industry.

“There are eight or nine players which operate on the mobility platform. Initially, five companies out of nine took the matter to TDSAT. I believe two of them have already withdrawn from the case and only three are left in this matter. So, clearly we have disassociated, being a member of COAI and a GSM operator in eight circles.”

Reliance Telecom, also controlled by Anil Ambani, offers GSM services across eight circles in the country. “We were issued permission to operate on both the platforms and we have paid a fee of more than Rs 1,650 crore.

Our spectrum eligibility date, which has been misrepresented by certain parties, is October 19, 2007. It is unnecessary, unwarranted and misleading propaganda,” Ambani said.

Replying to a query on whether the ongoing controversies and the litigation process could derail Reliance’s GSM expansion plans, Ambani said,

“We respect the judicial process and see absolutely no reason. The entire approach of two-three players left in this petition is to ensure that there is no new competition in the GSM space and stall any further stronger players from coming into this business.”

Ambani also attacked the existing GSM players for increasing tariffs in the recent months.

“If you look at what some of these players have done and practised in the last 3-6 months, it is a visible sign of price fixation. They keep increasing their tariffs and changing their service cost parameters. I think this is anti-consumer from their perspective.”