Reliance Comm applies for GSM

Signalling a full-blown entry into GSM mobile services across India, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Communications has applied for spectrum in 21 circles under the Unified Access Service Licence.

The company, which is a leading player in mobile space, sent in its application to the Department of Telecom's spectrum wing — Wireless Planning Coordination (WPC) — last week.

Reliance Communications, which already offers GSM services in five circles under the previous Cellular Mobile Service Provider licence regime, had in June applied for GSM spectrum in six circles, including Delhi and Mumbai.

Its present application seeks spectrum under the Unified Access Service Licence for 21 of the 23 circles in India.

Applications have not been made for north-east and Assam citing the neglibile size of the market and also due to the company's presence in these circles in the CDMA space. When contacted, a DoT official said some documents regarding spectrum have come to the WPC, but he declined to divulge the details.

The telecom service provider, which has over 20 million CDMA-based mobile subscribers, has been seeking to expand services on the GSM front for a while now. Earlier, DoT had asked it to furnish details of its business plans and spectrum needs for the circles applied for.

When contacted, Reliance Communications officials said that the move was in line with their enhanced focus on GSM.
Reliance, in its application, said that the UASL licence was technology neutral and operators are allowed to use any technology for providing access service.

It cited the example of BSNL and MTNL, which are using both GSM and CDMA technology for providing mobile services. It is clear that the company would continue their current focus on CDMA and would deploy GSM for future expansion, like in case of many global CDMA operators who are using GSM for future expansion.