India's top CDMA cellular provider seeks rival GSM

India's top CDMA-based mobile services provider, Reliance Communications Ltd., has sought the rival GSM spectrum from the government for future expansion, the company said on Friday.

The move comes in the wake of differences between Reliance and CDMA technology giant Qualcomm over royalties the U.S.-based firm charges on handsets.

Qualcomm has faced criticism from carriers in emerging markets over what they say are high royalty charges on CDMA technology for which it is the sole supplier.

"The move is in line with our enchanced focus on GSM. However, it is clear that the company will continue with its emphasis on CDMA and deploy GSM for future expansion as is being done by many global operators," Reliance said in a statement.


Reliance has sought GSM spectrum in 21 of the 23 zones or circles that make up the telecoms market. Each zone is equal to a large city, like Delhi, or a big state such as Maharashtra in western India.

Reliance Communications, which has a total of 25.7 million users, already runs GSM networks in 8 of the 23 circles.

The number of CDMA users that Reliance has stood at 23 million at the end of August. The rest are GSM subscribers.

Reliance Communications competes mainly with Bharti Airtel Ltd., India's top mobile services provider and a GSM user, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Hutchison Essar Ltd. All three have extensive GSM networks.

With 112 million wireless customers growing by more than 5 million a month, India has emerged as the world's fastest growing mobile services market.