The Hindu Business Line : CDMA players unhappy with new spectrum policy

The quality of mobile services is set to improve, with the Department of Telecom announcing its spectrum allocation policy whereby operators with higher subscriber base will get more radio frequency.

Spectrum is the key raw material required to offer mobile services, but since it is scarce most operators have already packed in more subscribers in the given radio frequency than it can hold, leading to congestion and frequent call drop.

Frequency allocation

The new policy announced by DoT has increased the frequency allocation for GSM-based operators to a maximum of 15 Mhz while those operators using the CDMA technology will get a maximum of 7.5 Mhz.

At present, GSM operators like Airtel and Hutch get a maximum of 8 Mhz, while CDMA operators such as Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices have so far been allocated only up to 5 Mhz.

Eligibility

DoT has retained its existing policy prescribing a specific number of subscriber base which the operators have to achieve before they can be eligible for fresh radio frequency.

For instance, Bharti, with a subscriber base of nearly 21 lakh users in Delhi, can now get 15 Mhz. The operator, at present, does not have more than 10 Mhz of radio frequency.

Similarly, Reliance, which has 17 lakh users in Delhi, is now eligible for 6.25 Mhz radio frequency. The company being a CDMA-based operator will get 7.5 Mhz once it reaches 21-lakh-subscriber mark in the Capital.

DoT has specified the subscribers required for each class of circle for both CDMA and GSM operators.

The operators in Metro circles of Delhi and Mumbai have to achieve a higher number of subscribers before they get fresh spectrum compared to operators in Circle C States such as Bihar, Orissa and North East.

Not happy

While the move will bring relief to telecom consumers, CDMA-based operators are not too happy with the policy. They have been demanding equal quantum of spectrum as is being allocated to their GSM counterparts.

Though DoT has brought parity in the number of subscribers that both CDMA and GSM operators will have to achieve, it has given lesser quantum to CDMA operators on the ground that it is a more efficient technology and can pack in more subscribers with lesser radio frequency.

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