Spectrum for Customer Base for 3G Rollout in India

[linuxguy 0]

It's not just that. I will have fun watching these looters paying huge sums to the government for spectrum which they so dearly need . It's what they do to us. They make us pay dearly for that little talktime they give >:-(

[shashank 8]

If they start bidding then the operators like airtel,hutch,BPL shiuld say good bye to 3G services.Because they cannot withstand the power of TATAs.TATAs have the power to buy entire spectrum at what ever cost it is!!!!

[@ksh@T 20]

there will be many bidders not only one and it is not a thing that is unique differebt operators will b paying differebt prices......

[abhay 0]

India to decide on 3G spectrum in 1Q-2006: Maran

India will decide on allocating scarce 3G spectrum for value-added telecom services in the first quarter of 2006, the telecom minister said on Tuesday.

Dayanidhi Maran added the booming sector needed more players and fresh investments after the government increased foreign ownership limits to 74 per cent from 49 per cent.

[@ksh@T 20]

NEW DELHI: India is expected to embark on 3G (third generation) cellular services around mid-2006 and not before that as was planned earlier this year by state-owned firms like BSNL and MTNL, according to officials revising New Telecom Policy (NTP).

They also indicated that for 3G services - which enable high speed video and data connectivity on mobile phones - India might end up following IMT 2000 (2.1 GHz) frequency plan that GSM operators like Airtel and Hutch have been pushing for, instead of the US PCS (1900 MHz) band demanded by CDMA operators (Reliance and Tatas).

In fact, one of the targets set up in NTP (2005-06) draft calls for "availability of at least 20 MHz in IMT 2000 band by the end of 2006 for rolling out of 3G services." It does not mention US PCS band.

This draft (dated October 26) is likely to undergo several changes before it is finalised and put on the Internet for public debate, before NTP is finalised.

yes abhay thats tru...so in 2006 we can c a hope of light.......

src:Source

[basant_jp 0]

NEW DELHI: CDMA-based telecom operators have got a shot in the arm with a Parliamentary Committee recommending that the government allot the crucial 1,900 Mhz spectrum to players using this technology for expansion of services.

"All efforts should be made to allot as much spectrum as the government can in 800/1,900 Mhz for the CDMA operators and the 900/1,800 Mhz for the GSM players for the expansion of telecom services", Standing Committee on IT (2005-06) said in its report on Spectrum Management.

The panel feels 3G services would be available only in the next three years.

It may be noted here that CDMA players have been demanding spectrum allocation on 1,900 Mhz band for 3G services, saying this was the only band where global equipment for 3G service was available.

'3G services' will enable a mobile user to access high-speed data, internet, video streaming as well as voice services.

Stating that 3G services are already made available through 'EDGE' and 'EVDO' platforms by GSM and CDMA companies respectively, it said until the time 2.1 Ghz band (as suggested by TRAI) is coordinated and spectrum, equipment are available in this band, the nation should not be deprived of access to 3G and other emerging service.

"In view of the fact that 3G and emerging services can be provided in the 800 Mhz and 900/1,800 Mhz bands, the committee desires that the government should create simultaneous opportunities to both GSM and CDMA players for roll out of 3G services", it said.

The panel also drew a comparison between the availability of spectrum to GSM and CDMA players.

Source : The Economic Times Internet Edition thru PTI

PTI[ MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2005 06:15:40 PM]

[ashoksoft 83]

Thats real kewl news mate ... more offers, more speeds possible

Cheers

Ashok

[SexyGurl 0]

This is probably the first time I have heard .... a PARLIAMENTARY COMMITEE .... giving a right recommendation.

Hope the govt. listens .... though, I suspect Dayanidhi Maran may still be open to accepting more bribes from Hutch and Bharti.

Edited December 27, 2005 by SexyGurl

[abhay 0]

so what about defence spectrum

[@ksh@T 20]

damn good and hot news man

[shashank 8]

So,when will the 3G services start??????????????

[Chirag 5]

its jus a recommendation! Implementations are far away! Hold on!

[cracker 0]

So,when will the 3G services start??????????????

arre yar yeah hai India

waiiiiit and watch

[@ksh@T 20]

PM clears setting up of new GoM for spectrum disputes

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the constitution of a group of ministers (GoM) to resolve disputes between the GSM and CDMA operators over the allocation of spectrum, a scarce resource. GoM will also find ways to vacate spectrum that is being used by the armed forces.

The GoM will be headed by defence minister Pranab Mukherjee and will include communications minister Dayanidhi Maran, finance minister P Chidambaram, law minister HL Bharadwaj. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the planning commission, will be a special invitee to the GoM.

This comes close on the heels of recent reports that armed forces are unwilling to free spectrum capacity for mobile companies and have instead asked for reservation of a special zone. The prime minister's office (PMO) has asked the planning commission to frame the detailed terms of reference for the proposed GoM. The planning commission will work jointly with the department of telecommunications (DoT) in formulating the terms of reference.

The need for formulating the GoM was felt in order to “resolve various issues like vacation of spectrum, upgrading the technology and equipment to existing users like defence and funding such upgradation, and delineating bases for transparent and equitable resolution of disputes regarding spectrum allocation among service providers,” says a note from the PMO to the planning commission.

Presently, a large chunk of spectrum in the 1900 MHz band is lying with the defence forces as they use old equipment. Most of it is not utilised properly. Mobile operators want this band to be vacated from defence and allocated to them.

Earlier, in its spectrum report, Trai had recommended lowering of annual revenue share to 4per cent from 6per cent, spectrum for 3G services to be allocated in the 2 GHz band, additional spectrum to be allocated to CDMA operators in 800 MHz band, and GSM operators to be provided spectrum in the 800 MHz band. It also said there should not be any entry fee for 3G spectrum. All the existing mobile operators would be allocated 3G spectrum. It also said that spectrum in the 1900 band would not be allocated to anyone, as it is being used by defence.

Source: The Economic Times

now what is this another GoM.......arre bhai...ab kyaa...

[Chirag 5]

Start from scratch!! Thats what our politicians are known for!! Every person comes and re-tars the road, filling his own pockets, and emptying tax-payer's pockets!

Edited January 7, 2006 by Chirag

[abhay 0]

should'nt that be tax payers pockets

[Chirag 5]

It shud be! Thnx for pointing it. updated the post!

Coming to the point, why is Spectrum so scarce? I dont understand how spectrum works.... I mean, cant more of it be created?

[Ramchi 0]

When this Mobile licenses were initially offered this guy Sukh Ram (all Congress wallas) and some other politicians from North took exorbitant amount of money as bribe (Bharti and Reliance were some of the companies I think) that forced mobile tariffs go sky high when it started.

Same people are again occupying the government now. These dinosaurs will not leave any opportunity to improve their Swiss bank account. Spectrum allocation of 3G is an ideal opportunity! These guys come with more numbers across different allies of UPA to share their looting!

Noting will come out good with this GoM: All discussions will be done on how to make more money for Sings, Mukarjees [he made sure that defense will make a big issue so that he will be part of the spectrum allocation!] and Chidambaram [he happily loots middle-class money]! Maran was the only person representing middle-class! Unfortunately, he becomes powerless with GoM in force.

[shan 0]

MUMBAI: The new policy on collecting access deficit charge (ADC) on a revenue-share basis is likely to be announced before the end of this month. And there’s some action on the spectrum front as well.

The Project Definition Team, set up by the Department of Telecom with the defence ministry, will submit its report on release of spectrum by the armed forces on January 20, DoT secretary JS Sarma said at the GSM 3G conference held here.

“The move to a revenue-sharing regime for ADC will be a reality very soon,” Mr Sarma said. In what may be music to operators’ ears, BSNL has been asked to vacate the 2 Ghz spectrum, which was not being used by the telco.

Trai had also recommended that additional spectrum should be allocated in the 800 Mhz, 1800 Mhz and 2 Ghz band. “Two parallel carriers (bands) are required, one for incoming and the other for outgoing. BSNL has been asked not use 2 Ghz any longer and the companion band is required to be vacated by the army. We are talking to them for vacating that band,” Mr Sarma said Operators have been demanding increased spectrum in view of a rising subscriber base and to improve quality of services. “We are trying to get spectrum vacated and this year we hope to see more spectrum being available to the operators,” he added.

On tariffs, he said, “We are moving towards OneIndia. Reliance Infocomm has already announced these tariffs. Others will also follow soon.” He said the target of 200m mobile subscribers will be met before ’07. “We are adding around 5.5m users every month. At this rate, we will end December ’06 with around 220m subscribers,” Mr Sarma said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1375865.cms

[@ksh@T 20]

DoT sidesteps GoM, farms out spectrum

Our Economy Bureau / New Delhi March 31, 2006

New policy linked to operators' subscriber base, and retains present 2:1 allocation for GSM & CMDA.

In a significant departure from convention, the department of telecomunication on Thursday today announced a new spectrum allocation policy without waiting for a group of ministers’ recommendations on the issue.

The new policy, which became effective today, is linked to an operator’s subscriber base and retains the present 2:1 allocation for GSM and CDMA.

It brings about parity between the two technologies by doing away with a condition that required CDMA operators to add more users than their GSM counterparts for getting extra spectrum. Now both will need to have an identical number of users to get the extra quota.

Headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the GoM was constituted on the instructions of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last November.

The group was supposed to finalise a new spectrum policy and included Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Home Minister Shivraj Patil,

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia apart from communications minister Dayanidhi Maran. However, it is not believed to have met even once till date.

DoT officials said that its Spectrum Allocation Procedure Committee was only doing its duty. “This committee was constituted first in June 2005. The GoM came much later. In that sense, it was ahead in the race,” government sources said.

However, the operators have slammed the new norms. They said the DoT has resorted to “shifting the goal posts by specifying unrealistically high subscriber numbers for more spectrum”.

When contacted, a leading CDMA operator spokesperson said: “The new policy has been brought about to undermine the authority of the GoM. We are going to ask the Department to wait for the recommendations of the GoM”.

“Such ad hoc actions by the DoT will only add to the prevailing confusion and will lead to a new round of litigation within the industry,” another leading operator said.

GSM operators were muted in response and instead complained that “the norms were lax and did not meet their demands”.

[@ksh@T 20]

CDMA-GSM fight over spectrum intensifies

By Sanjay Anand/TNN

New Delhi: The war of letters over government’s spectrum norms has intensified between the two warring cellular lobby groups — CDMA, led by Reliance and Tatas and GSM (Airtel, BSNL, Hutch and Idea).

GSM lobby group COAI has countered the ‘allegations’ made by Tata chairman Ratan Tata to PM Manmohan Singh on DoT’s recent guidelines on spectrum — radio frequency waves that enable mobile communications.

COAI’s rebuttal letter to the PM calls Tata’s claims as ‘inaccuracies, misrepresentations and allegations’. It says current National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) is in line with latest technological developments and regulation laid down by International Telecom Union. It says that DoT’s guidelines are in ‘full consonance with spectrum policy.’

Tata had written to PM saying that DoT guidelines put CDMA operators like Tata Teleservices at a disadvantage and ‘protected older GSM’ technology and penalising the one that is more efficient. He also reiterated his earlier point to buy spectrum nationwide for Rs 1,500 crore, warning against giving away new spectrum for free.

COAI has countered this saying that DoT’s norms — which link gradual release of spectrum in chunks to phone companies based on the number of subscribers they achieve — actually favoured CDMA lobby.

COAI said CDMA players have always claimed that they were five times more efficient than GSM operators and yet DoT ‘‘order has maintained a lenient ratio of 2:1 between GSM and CDMA spectrum.’’ It said subscriber link approach was the ‘‘only practical solution in the absence of an upfront availability of adequate spectrum for all access providers.’’

COAI has disagreed with the suggestion of ‘a high price tag of Rs 1,500 crore’ for all-India spectrum, saying that it was ill-advised and would revert to earlier high licensing fee legacy that nearly bankrupted the telecom industry in 1998.

source TOI delhi edition dated may 03 2006

[Ramchi 0]

Spectrum policy and 3G network is like, RIM announcing the arrival of Nokia 6265.

Both GSM and CDMA operators do not want to move further. They apparently get enough money with their existing ancient and outdated networks such as CDMA, GSM, GPRS etc... They actually fear for competition from Global telecom players; so they keep on arguing with each other and trying to fool the public that only TRAI-DOT is responsible for the delay. This TRAI-DOT and Telecom Ministry is perfectly playing its role in preventing technological advances in this country.

If 3G spectrum is opened up for Global Players, Indian subscribers will be able to see 3G/EV-DO and other advanced networks in India much sooner. In many countries such implementations are seamless and without much delay.

With TATA/Reliance/Airtel around, we can safely assume that India will see 3G network only in the next century.

Edited May 5, 2006 by Ramchi

[@ksh@T 20]

Tatas' stand on spectrum draws flak from COAIAdd to Clippings

SHALINI SINGH

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NEW DELHI: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has strongly criticised the Tatas’ stand that the new spectrum policy should adequately reflect the aspirations of late entrants.

This has opened up a new chapter in the intense corporate battle for spectrum and ended up isolating Ratan Tata from the rest of the industry.

“Tatas first alleged that the subscriber numbers of the other operators were fudged. Now they accede that other operators have a headstart.

Strangely, they expect front runners in a fiercely competitive marketplace to stop running in the race so that a laggard (the Tatas) can catch up,” said TV Ramachandran, director general of COAI.

The Tatas had opposed the government’s proposed formula for spectrum allocation, which was based on the number of subscribers. Instead, they had suggested a cash-for-spectrum formula, and were willing to cough up Rs 1,500 crore to buy spectrum.

The GSM lobby is quick to point out that the Tatas’ opposition to the subscriber numbers criterion for spectrum allocation, made out to be based on principles, is actually guided by their own commercial motivation since the Tatas had the lowest subscriber base.

Interestingly, Reliance Infocomm, the only other CDMA player, has chosen to remain silent, indicating that they were in sync with the government policy.

Said the CEO of a leading GSM operator, “Tatas lost out on GSM opportunity when they exited IDEA after a public spat with the Aditya Birla Group.

They watched while others bid for the fourth GSM licence and are now a distant second in a race of just two CDMA operators. Neither the government nor the industry is to blame for their low risk appetite and consequent lack of subscribers.”

War over spectrum allocationAdd to Clippings

RAJESH KALRA

[ MONDAY, MAY 08, 2006 12:56:21 AM]

Ratan Tata is upset with the way the department of telecommunications has allocated spectrum for mobile operators. In a missive to the Telecom Commission chairman, and then to the prime minister, he has ripped through the department’s move to link spectrum allocation with technology and subscriber base.

Gauging the seriousness of Tata’s allegations, and the fact that it has the potential to derail their ambitions, the GSM operators too have gone into an overdrive, with their association and the individual operators all sending rejoinders to whoever cares to listen. A spectrum war has begun.

As the subscriber base has grown, the operators have been unable to meet the service quality, so they claim, due to the inadequate spectrum. However, since most of the spectrum in this country is held by defence forces, it is impossible for the government to make it available to operators at one go, as is done internationally.

So the government allots additional spectrum “based on a subscriber linked criteria, keeping in mind the optimal use of this resource and taking into account all relevant aspects such as technology specific requirements, traffic guidelines, number of base stations, etc.”

This has resulted in 2:1 allotment criteria for GSM and CDMA operators, which means for an equal number of subscribers, CDMA operators are allotted half the spectrum given to GSM.

It is easy to punch holes in DoT’s reasoning. It is no secret that operators have been exaggerating their subscriber base to bolster not only their claim to greater bandwidth, but also to make a marketing pitch and impress existing and prospective investors.

Then there are allegations in case of one GSM and one CDMA operator that their phenomenal subscriber growth was fuelled by fictitious numbers used to show incoming international calls as being locally generated to avoid paying the huge ADC.

With all this, and the absence of any independent agency to verify subscriber-base claims, it seems absurd that subscriber number was made one of the important criteria for additional spectrum allocation. Tata’s grouse seems justified.

Tata’s second grouse over differential treatment for two technologies too has some merit. This differentiation has resulted in CDMA operators being allocated up to 7.5 MHz compared to 15 MHz for the GSM guys just because CDMA is a better utiliser of spectrum.

This paper has, over the years, always argued for technology neutrality. Years ago, when GSM was the only permissible technology for mobile and CDMA wanted to make an entry and GSM operators argued against this back-door entry into the mobile domain, this paper had an unambiguous stand.

While agreeing that the manner of CDMA entry was wrong, it nevertheless maintained that if subscribers should not be denied the use of new technologies that make better use of the scarce bandwidth, because of some silly policy.

Tata is now using a similar argument when he says that there are newer and better technologies being developed all the time and “will these newer, exciting, customer-friendly technologies be banned or restricted in India by the DOT to protect users of current technologies?” Point!

In any case, why is spectrum being doled out for free? In 2001, it was clearly stated in official documents that after the initial 4.4 MHz + 4.4 MHz is given, additional spectrum would be made available “on case by case basis, on payment of additional licence fee.” Places such as the EU charge heavy annual fee for doling out bandwidth.

Ultimately, all these issues really turn out to be no more than fight for corporate bottom lines. Every corporate worth it salt tries to manage governments to its advantage. Some are more successful at it than others. There is nothing wrong with it. But the policy makers should not get swayed by it.

There are big issues plaguing the telecom sector. Despite galloping growth, the quality of service is poor. Interconnectivity is a mess. And rural telephony has gone off everybody’s radar.

There are newer wireless technologies available for taking phones to the hinterland. The USO fund is being talked about for this purpose and it is understood that a technical and a financial consultant is in the process of being appointed.

Once that happens, fresh tenders will be invited for rural connectivity. Thankfully, some out-of-the-box thinking is happening on that front, such as making available common infrastructure and also insistence on certain other infrastructure being shared, so that costs can come down.

There is need for more such pro-activism. Perhaps, the time has come to go into a team huddle, a la men in blue. The huddle should include everyone with a stake in the sector — operators, licensor, regulator, arbitrator, operator, and consumers. Let them remain in a huddle till they have not resolved every issue they have been fighting over. I am sure it will not be as difficult as electing a Pope!

DoT's spectrum policy gets COAI support

Our Bureau

Allocation not part of public defined policy: Ratan Tata

COAI counter

In January 2003, when a Technical Committee was constituted to look into the efficient use of spectrum by cellular operators and to examine their demand for allotment of additional spectrum, representatives of both the GSM as well as CDMA industry were part of the Committee.

New Delhi , May 4

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Thursday once again took on the CDMA operators for suggesting to do away with the subscriber-linked approach followed for allotment of additional spectrum to mobile operators on the grounds that it was not part of any public defined policy.

Mr T.V. Ramachandran, Director-General, COAI, clarified that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) spectrum roadmap for additional allotment of spectrum to operators based on a subscriber-linked criteria was finalised by the Government way back in July 2003 after extensive consultations with and the full participation of all stakeholders, including the CDMA industry.

Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group, in his letter to DoT, had suggested that the subscriber-linked spectrum allocation policy was not part of any public defined policy.

Finalised after review

The COAI countered that in January 2003, when a Technical Committee was constituted by the then Minister of Communication to look into the efficient use of spectrum by cellular operators and to examine their demand for allotment of additional spectrum, representatives of both the GSM as well as CDMA industry were part of the Committee. "The subscriber-linked spectrum roadmap was finalised by the Committee after TEC conducted an in-depth and comprehensive study for almost seven months and examined the current utilisation of bandwidth by the operators, the network design practices and the traffic handling capacity in different areas," the COAI said in a press release.

Mr Ramachandran opined that in a market where spectrum was limited, it was absurd to suggest that the operator with the least number of subscribers be given the same amount of spectrum as the operator with the maximum number of subscribers. The provisions of licence too stipulate that no additional spectrum be given to an operator who neither requires nor justifies such additional allotments.

CDMA players unhappy with new spectrum policy

The quality of mobile services is set to improve, with the Department of Telecom announcing its spectrum allocation policy whereby operators with higher subscriber base will get more radio frequency.

Spectrum is the key raw material required to offer mobile services, but since it is scarce most operators have already packed in more subscribers in the given radio frequency than it can hold, leading to congestion and frequent call drop.

Frequency allocation

The new policy announced by DoT has increased the frequency allocation for GSM-based operators to a maximum of 15 Mhz while those operators using the CDMA technology will get a maximum of 7.5 Mhz.

At present, GSM operators like Airtel and Hutch get a maximum of 8 Mhz, while CDMA operators such as Reliance Infocomm and Tata Teleservices have so far been allocated only up to 5 Mhz.

Eligibility

DoT has retained its existing policy prescribing a specific number of subscriber base which the operators have to achieve before they can be eligible for fresh radio frequency.

For instance, Bharti, with a subscriber base of nearly 21 lakh users in Delhi, can now get 15 Mhz. The operator, at present, does not have more than 10 Mhz of radio frequency.

Similarly, Reliance, which has 17 lakh users in Delhi, is now eligible for 6.25 Mhz radio frequency. The company being a CDMA-based operator will get 7.5 Mhz once it reaches 21-lakh-subscriber mark in the Capital.

DoT has specified the subscribers required for each class of circle for both CDMA and GSM operators.

The operators in Metro circles of Delhi and Mumbai have to achieve a higher number of subscribers before they get fresh spectrum compared to operators in Circle C States such as Bihar, Orissa and North East.

Not happy

While the move will bring relief to telecom consumers, CDMA-based operators are not too happy with the policy. They have been demanding equal quantum of spectrum as is being allocated to their GSM counterparts.

Though DoT has brought parity in the number of subscribers that both CDMA and GSM operators will have to achieve, it has given lesser quantum to CDMA operators on the ground that it is a more efficient technology and can pack in more subscribers with lesser radio frequency.

well they all will keep fighting and GSM players will flew with spectrum...why the hell they cant unite and fight

together against GSM players

Air Force may soon vacate spectrum for mobile users

Our Bureau

Rs 1,000-cr OFC connectivity project to be completed in 6-7 months

New Delhi , May 19

The Air Force could be the first amongst the Defence Services to vacate spectrum for use by mobile operators.

This is because the work for providing connectivity to the Air Force access points — as part of the Rs 1,000-crore exclusive optical fibre cable project for the three armed forces — is likely to be completed in the next 6-7 months.

The Rs 1,000-crore project entails an optical fibre cable network for the armed forces, linking crucial establishments across the country, which will enable them to shift part of their communication from the existing wireless mode to a wire line network.

This would enable defence to vacate around 45 MHz of spectrum, which can then be allocated to mobile telecom operators for wireless services.

"The project implementation has started and is already in full swing. The core network of BSNL would be utilised for providing the required bandwidth to 400 access points for the Air Force, Navy and the Army.

The road survey on aspects like the length of the optical fibre cable and the identifying points for the nodes, is also almost over," sources said.

Sources said that the trenching for the cable link will start shortly and the process is expected to be completed in a month's time at most of accessible locations.

SNL will also begin the exercise for procuring the equipment for the access network by early next month, sources said.

Networks

"In the next 6-7 months, at least one of the networks, most likely the Air Force, will be ready. This is because the Air Force has better access points and the work can be done faster.

The Army and Navy network could take 2-3 more months. So, Air Force could be the first to vacate spectrum," sources said adding, "The Defence Ministry was quick to approve the project in a record time of one-month. The Communications Minister is also keen to expedite the project," they pointed out.

State-owned BSNL would implement the project and the spectrum released would be allocated to operators for offering the existing mobile services as well as 3G (next generation mobile services) services.

With huge expansion of mobile telephony subscriber base in the country, the amount of spectrum of allocations has not kept pace with the demand, resulting in poor quality of service and congestion. With the defence vacating spectrum, such issues are likely to be addressed.

guys my latest updates onm SPECTRUM ISSUE

Edited May 21, 2006 by @ksh@T

[vmsanghrajka 0]

TRAI to reassess 3G spectrum issue: DoT

Sify India

Wednesday, 24 May , 2006

Ignoring the earlier TRAI recommendations on spectrum, the Government today asked the regulator to give fresh recommendations on requirement and pricing of spectrum for the next generation (3G) mobile services.

"We have requested TRAI to look into the spectrum for 3G services... besides Department of Telecom (DoT) has already taken up the matter with Ministry of Defence and we hope to get 45 Mhz of frequency from defence services by the year end," Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, told reporters.

The spectrum the Defence is expected to release is in the IMT 2000 band and 1800-1900 Mhz band which is the band for 3G services.

A coordination committee has been set up with members from both the ministries to get the spectrum, he said adding a project worth Rs 1000 crore has already been launched for this purpose.

On the functioning of the Group of Ministers (GoM) under Defence Minister Pranab Mukharjee, the minister clarified that the GoM was formed "only for the purpose of vacating spectrum from defence services and how to fund it."

"GoM was not for framing the spectrum policy," Maran said while announcing the new target for telecom subscriber at 500 million by 2010.

He said in last two years telephone subscriber base has been doubled to 115 million and was expecting to achieve the target of 250 million subscribers by 2007.

With the trend in the growth of telecom services, Maran said the new target was achievable within the specified period.

[Ramchi 0]

No one wants to invest more money. All operators are happy to continue status quo without investing huge in 3G or EC-DO. If they open up 3G license for others they will be forced to upgrade their network at huge costs; whereas new entrants may come with more attractive tarrifs which will force existing providers to give their way.

It is purely political and Indian citizens are obviously losers in this process because they are denied technologyical advancement in the name of TRAI/DOT/Defense/Operators etc...

The interest shown by Mr Maran also seems to be political as he is against TATA and other major providers who did not bend their back. Initially, I thought he was doing a great job but the secret is out and he is also playing his cards.