| The battle for spectrum between mobile operators intensified today after Reliance Communications (RCom) Chairman Anil Ambani lashed out at the GSM operators' association, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). |
| Ambani termed COAI's appeal to the telecom tribunal against the government granting RCom dual-use technology (CDMA and GSM) as "unnecessary and unwarranted". He was speaking on the sidelines of a press conference on RCom's IPTV services. |
| Ambani's comments come after a letter written by Communications Minister A Raja to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday saying COAI was misleading the country on the spectrum issue. |
| RCom, the country's largest provider of CDMA mobile services, recently received permission to start GSM services under its existing licence for which it paid a fee of Rs 1,651 crore. |
| GSM service operators, which account for the bulk of mobile services in the country, have alleged that in allowing RCom dual-use technology under the same licence, the government has given it priority in the queue of service providers awaiting spectrum allocation. Some operators have been waiting for spectrum for almost a year. |
| Ambani accused COAI of "false propaganda" and said its objections were "also against the subscribers and the future of competition". |
| Despite being a GSM operator in eight circles and having around 5 million GSM subscribers, RCom has also "disassociated" itself from the association, he added. |
| RCom provides GSM services through its subsidiary Reliance Telecom. |
| Ambani said that RCom did not have any "planned course of action" and the rollout would depend on the allocation of spectrum. |
| COAI executives declined to comment, stating "we have nothing to say". The telecom tribunal is scheduled to hear the matter on November 12. |
Explore Business Standard