'CDMA players punished for being efficient'

CDMA operators in India were being “punished for being more efficient”, said Tata Teleservices Chief Executive and Managing Director N Srinath, in an interview to a Tata Group website. The operators were also being forced to seek GSM spectrum to ensure sustainability.

CDMA operators such as Tata Teleservices were not provided a level playing field on spectrum, claimed Srinath. “We were given lower allocations for the same number of subscribers, had to work within the limited availability in the one band (800MHz as against two bands of 900/1,800MHz for GSM operators), and, over time, had no headroom to expand or get additional spectrum,” he added, pointing out that the argument presented to Tata Teleservices for this was that since CDMA was more efficient than GSM, CDMA operators could make do with less spectrum.

Srinath said when CDMA players got GSM spectrum, it was far lower than that to incumbent GSM players, some of them had spectrum in excess of their licence entitlements. “For example, in spite of applying for it in 2008, TTSL is still to get allocation of even start-up GSM spectrum in Delhi, one of the largest markets in India for mobile services.”

The government, however, has already decided to give start-up spectrum to Tata Teleservices in Delhi telecom zone, after the auction, depending on availability.

Srinath also said that it was “heartening to note that several of the new policy announcements seem aimed at correcting some of these imbalances and are, therefore, a step in the right direction, though the finer details are still be to announced on a few issues.”

However, the company is planning to “improve the acceptance of our 3G services, including further rationalisation of tariffs, promoting multimedia services and increasing the penetration of smartphones in the market,” in coming days, according to Srinath.