Tata Teleservices on Wednesday became the second major CDMA operator, after Reliance Communications, to get GSM radio frequency under the dual technology along with other new telecom players.Tata Teleservices has been given start up 4.4 MHz GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu along with five new telecom players, company officials said.
The government on Tuesday started allocating GSM spectrum to new telecom players, commencing with the Tamil Nadu circle including Chennai, in a move that would infuse more competition in the mobile telephony space.Five new players -- Videocon-promoted Datacom, Idea Cellular, realty major Unitech, Swan Telecom and Loop Telecom -- have been given start-up 4.4 MHz GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu circle.
Communications Minister A Raja on Monday told Parliament that there was no "contractual agreement" between government and telecom operators to allot spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, a move that could hurt GSM players like Bharti, Vodafone and Idea Cellular. Raja also ruled out auctioning of spectrum saying this was not feasible based on previous experiences, especially in 1993 when operators were not able to fulfill their roll out obligations.
The Department of Telecommunications' Wireless Planning and Coordination arm has moved a note to issue start-up spectrum of 4.4 MHz to four leading service providers offering GSM technology, whose applications have been pending from December 2006.
Several high-profile people, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former cabinet ministers Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, are lodged in Tihar jail.
There are 29 licences in 18 service areas which will expire in 2015-16.
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According to reports, CAG has sought details from the department of telecommunication on the total available spectrum in the country and how much has been allocated to private telecom operators from 2000 onward and at what value.
As per the initial proposal, DoT had sought 60 days time to start auction from the date cabinet decides on the spectrum base price and the NIA was to be issued after 15 days of the decision.
In its 143-page report, the committee headed by retired Justice Shivraj Patil, has also said there is a need for a comprehensive new legislation for the telecom sector like in other countries.
Spectrum auction: Govt revenues reach Rs 1.02 tln on Day 10
Vodafone had in December last year sought extension of its licence period for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles, which are coming up for renewal in November 2014.
The government has 97 blocks of 1.25 MHz spectrum each, which DoT can put on the block in the third round.
The government on Wednesday accepted spectrum review committee's recommendation of allocating additional frequency to existing GSM operators based on TRAI's subscriber linked formula and in multiples of 1 MHz.
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Two regional CDMA players - HFCL in Punjab and Shyam Telecom in Rajasthan - have deposited fee for their GSM spectrum as per the dual technology permitted by the government. HFCL deposited Rs 151.75 crore (Rs 1.51 billion) for Punjab circle, while Shyam gave about Rs 32 crore for the Rajasthan circle.
Upping the ante in the ongoing spectrum war, Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani has shot off a missive to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), accusing GSM operators of having cornered spectrum under the valuable 900 MHz.
The Cellular Operators Association of India, the lobby of GSM players, has already petitioned telecom tribunal TDSAT challenging the government's decision to alow dual technology for mobile services and also spectrum allocation norms as suggested by the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The recommendations of the commission will now be put before the empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram for a final decision.
The department of telecom (DoT) on Friday announced a set of rules for granting telecom licences and allocating spectrum that is likely to impact GSM-technology service providers like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, among others.
RComm will get GSM spectrum along with other players like Vodafone, Airtel and Idea. This move will bring RComm actively in the GSM field.
For Uninor, it is more important to serve customers better in existing circles rather than going for pan-India operations.
The department of telecom is currently looking into guidelines relating to spectrum allocation and other financial criteria like net worth of the applicant for the purpose of awarding new licences.
Tensions between private telecom players and the government ratcheted up a notch after it was discovered that state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd was given additional spectrum of up to 10 MHz for GSM technology services in over 16 circles even as private competitors have been waiting to be allotted spectrum by the Department of Telecommunications since December 2006.
The government struck a cordial note with the GSM mobile lobby by agreeing on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai's) norms for spectrum allocation, a move described by rival CDMA player Reliance Communications (RCom) as "succumbing to pressure".
Addressing a pre-bid conference for auctioning 3G and BWA spectrum, telecom commission member (finance) R Ashok said, "Successful 3G bidders will be eligible for getting 2G spectrum." The auction for the allocation of third-generation radio waves is due next month. But there was confusion whether 3G players would be eligible to get 2G spectrum.
Commenting on the development, Rajiv Mehrotra, Chairman of Shyam Group, told PTI: "We are delighted that the government has opened up the way for new telecom players to operate telecom services as soon as possible and this is a major step towards offering cost-effective mobile services." Russian conglomerate has already announced up to $5 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) investment in the Indian telecom sector.
The battle for spectrum has now spread among the key members of the committee that was set up by the Department of Telecom (DoT) to suggest new subscriber norms for allocation of additional spectrum.
The government is expecting Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) from the second round of spectrum auction later this fiscal,
To revive the two state-run telecom operators, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the government is likely to waive the one-time fee these telcos need to pay for retaining additional spectrum.
Admitting the Central Bureau of Investigation appeal, the high court said there are "some contradictions" in the trial court's judgment which require "deeper examination".
Telecom operators continued to place bids for 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.
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A meeting of United Progressive Alliance allies scheduled for Monday night, in the wake of persisting Opposition demand for a joint parliamentary committee into 2G spectrum allocation, was postponed at the last moment. The meeting convened by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is now expected to be held in a day or two. It had to be postponed as a number of leaders of allies were not in Delhi. The issue has paralysed Parliament.
The government may earn about Rs 50,000 crore (Rs 500 billion) from the new telecom spectrum policy, which seeks to delink licences from spectrum, if it decides to fix the price based on the figure discovered through last year's 3G auction.
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According to senior officials in the department of telecommunication 20 Mhz of spectrum has been given to the four firms -- Infotel, Bharti, Aircel and Tikona Digital, which have licences to offer services.
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The ministry wanted to use spectrum in the 700-MHz band for mobile TV services.
After poor response to last month's 2G spectrum sale, a ministerial panel on telecom on Friday decided to lower the base price by 30 per cent for radiowaves in 1800 Mhz band in four circles, which attracted no bidders, for fresh auction this fiscal.
