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New Delhi: India's telecoms tribunal on Tuesday dismissed objections by GSM mobile operators to allow CDMA providers to offer services on both platforms and a move to tighten grants of additional radio spectrum.
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In 2007, India permitted mobile firms such as No 2 operator Reliance Communications, which has most users on CDMA-based networks, offer services using GSM as well, prompting the petition by the Cellular Operators' Association of India.
The COAI, which represents Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and others, had argued the telecoms licence agreement allowed only the use of one of the two mobile platforms.
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The COAI had also challenged the government's decision to steeply hike the subscriber numbers needed by operators for additional airwave grants, making it more difficult to receive the scarce resource.
India offers mobile operators some radio spectrum to start services along with the telecoms licence. Additional spectrum is granted on reaching subscriber addition milestones.
While rejecting that challenge, the Telecoms Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal said the telecom regulator's decision not to cap the number of operators was puzzling given the scarcity of spectrum.
"It is also well-known that for efficient and economic operations, including laying out of networks, a certain minimum spectrum is essential. The average spectrum allocation per operator in other countries is higher than in our country," the tribunal said.
"It is therefore puzzling as to why (the regulator) recommended a no-cap policy on the number of service providers."
