cdma vs gsm battle in india
expressindia.com
9/18/2000
CDMA versus GSM -- DTO grapples with mobile standards
Neeraja Kumar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) formulating a committee to evaluate both the GSM and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technologies, before taking a final decision on which direction to take for providing both rural telephony and mobile service, the worldwide battle of GSM versus CDMA, has downloaded itself on to India.
Even though as Mr Shyamal Ghosh, chairman, Telecom Commission, points out that "the committee is evaluating the Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) application of CDMA with the mobile application of GSM," hectic parleys are on to convince the DoT to compare ``an orange with an orange and not an apple with an orange''. Both CDMA and GSM are standards to provide mobile cellular service, whereas WLL is a CDMA-based application to provide basic telephone service.
Consequently, the CDMA lobby is trying hard to ensure that DTO compares GSM with CDMA mobile technology and not with its WLL application. The committee is expected to give its decision shortly, and companies in both the GSM and CDMA camp, are on tenterhooks, because at stake are projects worth more than Rs 2000 crore. In the GSM camp are big names like Seimens, Alcatel, and Nokia. Companies, whose fates are intertwined with that of CDMA include, Samsung, Qualcom, and LG. Companies with eggs in both the CDMA and GSM baskets, are Motorola, Lucent, Nortel, and Ericsson. Significantly, some of the major CDMA manufacturers, including Samsung, Nortel, and Ericsson, had not participated in DoT's recently floated CDMA WLL tender for 6 lakh rural lines. eFE tries to explain the two technologies, "compare an orange with an orange," analyze them in their suitability in the Indian context, and of course to find out what is the GSM-CDMA battle all about.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
- Lead Stories | Corporate | Infrastructure | Commodities | Economy/Finance | BSE Today | NSE/ Markets | Strategy | Convergence | After Hours Top
© Copyright 1999: Indian Express Newspaper(Bombay) Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world.
This entire edition is compiled in Mumbai by The Indian Express Online Media Limited, a division of
The Indian Express Group of Newspapers. Managed by The Indian Express Online Media Limited and hosted by CerfNet.
feedback@financialexpress.com |
