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RCom, GSM majors clash on user numbers

CDMA leader Reliance Communications (RCom) has countered global system for mobile communications (GSM) biggie Bharti Airtel’s statement.

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Company files RTI application on spectrum allocation

NEW DELHI: Code division multiple access (CDMA) leader Reliance Communications (RCom) has countered global system for mobile communications (GSM) biggie Bharti Airtel’s statement that most of the 28 million subscribers that it has added in the past 18 months are from rural areas, where there was no spectrum constraint.

It has also filed six applications through the Right To Information (RTI) Act, seeking information on whether Vodafone-Essar (earlier Hutch-Essar) and Bharti Airtel were
allocated spectrum in 900 MHz band or 1800 MHz in West Bengal circle.

According to Bharti, there’s a degradation of quality during peak hours in dense urban areas, where also it has added subscribers in the past few months.

Bharti’s statement was in reply to a presentation made to the government by RCom in November, stating that Bharti was able to add 28 million subscribers in the past 18 months without allocation of any fresh spectrum.

However, RCom has argued that Bharti has added 80% of its subscribers in the past 18 months in Delhi, rather than in rural areas.

It has said that Bharti achieved it without any fresh spectrum, thereby stressing
that the demand made by GSM players to relax the subscriber-linked guidelines for spectrum allocation does not have much merit.

RCom has also cited the quality of service (QoS) report card made by the telecom regulator to state that Bharti’s QoS parameters are within the specified benchmarks in the metros.

RCom has made a point-by-point rebuttal of the arguments put forward by Bharti and Vodafone Essar in separate letters to R Bandopadhyay, additional secretary in the department of telecommunications and also the chairman of the spectrum committee.

This committee is reviewing the norms for spectrum allocation to telcos after GSM players objected to the recommendations of the Telecom Engineering Centre (the technical wing of DoT).

Two days ago, GSM players, represented by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), pulled out of the spectrum committee, saying that the outcome appears to be “pre-determined”.

COAI had earlier moved the dispute tribunal, TDSAT, against the government permitting dual technology to offer both CDMA and GSM services.

RCom is believed to be the biggest beneficiary of the dual technology policy, as the CDMA major is planning to start pan-India GSM operations.

On comparisons with China, RCom has countered the COAI argument that in the twelfth year of their operations, China had much greater spectrum than India for far less subscribers.

According to RCom, currently, China has 2.5 times that of India’s GSM subscribers per MHz, and that China uses spectrum more efficiently than India.

While Bharti had stated that there are statutory and contractual rights up to 15 MHz spectrum for GSM operators, RCom dismisses it as “a misrepresentation”.

Maximum allocation for CDMA players is 5 + 5 MHz, and for GSM 6.2 + 6.2 MHz.
Bharti and Reliance have differing views on spectrum-efficient technologies also.

While RCom has said that SAIC, a spectrum-efficient technology, is available in a majority of handsets, Bharti has pointed out that it’s available in only limited handsets and the technology is “unproven”.

Retaliating Vodafone’s statement that most of the Vodafone operators in other countries get more spectrum than in India, RCom has said it’s not prudent to compare developed markets with India.

RCom has accused Vodafone of “cherry picking a comment out of context,” while referring to quality of service instances.

Meanwhile, RCom, which has been pressing for the withdrawal of extra spectrum from GSM players, has sought detailed information on allocation of spectrum to telcos over the years and the price paid for the same through the RTI Act.

RCom’s RTI queries include the initial spectrum allocation to Hutch (now Vodafone Essar)  and in which band, the date of additional spectrum allocation to the first and second GSM operator and on what basis, the fee paid by operators for additional spectrum, the quantum of  spectrum allocated to Bharti  in West Bengal as the fourth  licensee.

The two telecom camps, GSM and CDMA, have been engaged in a battle for airwaves or spectrum, and have clashed over issues such as international  criteria for spectrum allocation, quality of service, new spectrum-efficient technologies and even  interpretation of licence clauses.

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