CDMA,GSM players in tug-of-war over extra spectrum

A war of sorts has broken out between GSM and CDMA operators over whether the department of telecommunications (DoT) is bound by contract to allot extra 2G spectrum without any additional one-time fee.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing GSM players, has been writing to communications and IT minister A Raja, highlighting how the government is bound by contract to provide extra spectrum without any additional charge.

But The Association of Unified Service Providers of India (Auspi), which represents CDMA operators like Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, has shot off a letter, charging GSM players with misrepresenting facts and providing veiled threats of litigation.

In a letter to Raja, Auspi secretary- general SC Khanna has said that cellular operators using the GSM technology have been allocated more spectrum than what the licence agreement allows.

He has also said that the GSM players have been allocated extra spectrum until 2002 unauthorisedly.

Auspi has charged that GSM operators have been hoarding spectrum, leading to large buyout valuations, as can be seen from the recent take over of one of the leading operators by an international company.

"In view of this, we trust that the government will not be impacted by the veiled threats of legal actions by any section of the operators, and will go ahead and take necessary actions in the best interest of the country and subscribers," the letter says.