Trai backs DoT plan for fresh cell licences
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
[ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2003 04:36:44 AM ]
NEW DELHI: The DoT’s proposal to grant fresh licences for mobile services — mooted when Pramod Mahajan headed the communications ministry — has received conditional backing from the telecom regulator.
The regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), has told DoT that fresh licences can be considered if additional spectrum is made available for the existing operators as well as for new entrants.
Responding to DoT’s query on the feasibility of issuing fresh licences for mobile services, Trai chairman MS Verma wrote a letter, dated February 20, to DoT secretary Vinod Vaish, pointing out three issues. One, the inadequate availability of spectrum for the current set of mobile service providers — their counterparts abroad have greater bandwidth at their disposal.
Two, the spectrum now available for mobile operators is not necessarily the exclusive preserve of GSM operators; WLL mobile operators too can lay claim to it. Three, the regulator favours further competition and improvement in quality of services.
Former telecom minister Pramod Mahajan had favoured granting fresh licences for mobile services, as a way of resolving the row over WLL-mobile services. If WLL-M service providers were to take full-fledged mobile service licences, paying an entry fee what all the fourth cellular licences together fetched the government by way of entry fees, GSM operators could no longer complain about any backdoor entry by WLL-M operators.
The Trai letter makes it clear that this is a viable strategy, provided DoT makes more spectrum available for telecom. There is consensus within the telecom industry that the defence establishment is sitting on far more bandwidth than it actually needs or uses.
If some of this can be made available for telecom, Trai would have no problem approving the issue of fresh mobile licences. The new licences are technology neutral. If a WLL-M licensee obtains a full- fledged licence, it can offer roaming and all value added services using CDMA.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
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I'll step forward and say it.
By March 04, cdma will be the dominant mobile air interface in India. |
