Date:05/05/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/05/stories/2006050504380900.htm

Back DoT's spectrum policy gets COAI support

Our Bureau

Allocation not part of public defined policy: Ratan Tata

COAI counter
In January 2003, when a Technical Committee was constituted to look into the efficient use of spectrum by cellular operators and to examine their demand for allotment of additional spectrum, representatives of both the GSM as well as CDMA industry were part of the Committee.

New Delhi , May 4

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Thursday once again took on the CDMA operators for suggesting to do away with the subscriber-linked approach followed for allotment of additional spectrum to mobile operators on the grounds that it was not part of any public defined policy.

Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, clarified that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) spectrum roadmap for additional allotment of spectrum to operators based on a subscriber-linked criteria was finalised by the Government way back in July 2003 after extensive consultations with and the full participation of all stakeholders, including the CDMA industry.

Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group, in his letter to DoT, had suggested that the subscriber-linked spectrum allocation policy was not part of any public defined policy.

Finalised after review

The COAI countered that in January 2003, when a Technical Committee was constituted by the then Minister of Communication to look into the efficient use of spectrum by cellular operators and to examine their demand for allotment of additional spectrum, representatives of both the GSM as well as CDMA industry were part of the Committee. "The subscriber-linked spectrum roadmap was finalised by the Committee after TEC conducted an in-depth and comprehensive study for almost seven months and examined the current utilisation of bandwidth by the operators, the network design practices and the traffic handling capacity in different areas," the COAI said in a press release.

Mr Ramachandran opined that in a market where spectrum was limited, it was absurd to suggest that the operator with the least number of subscribers be given the same amount of spectrum as the operator with the maximum number of subscribers. The provisions of licence too stipulate that no additional spectrum be given to an operator who neither requires nor justifies such additional allotments.