GSM lobby brings in global ammo for spectrum battle

New Delhi: Ahead of crucial spectrum auctions, the GSM (Global System of Mobile Communications) lobby has opened yet another battle front by establishing an India office for GSMA, an association which claims to represent 800 mobile operators worldwide.

GSM operators are the big daddies of the Indian mobile services market and they already have an association, the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), which represents their interests and participates in the regulatory processes for them in India.

GSMA will now perform a similar role, though its new office bearers claim the functions of the two associations will not overlap and GSMA will primarily bring the global perspective to the Indian telecom market while also carrying India’s voice overseas. The setting up of an India office by GSMA signifies the growing importance of India in the global telecom scenario but it could also make the battle for spectrum a long drawn one in the months to come.

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Already, dual-technology players such as Reliance Communications (which use both GSM and Code Division Multiple Access technology) have joined forces with other CDMA operators to fight the powerful GSM lobby, which has got a free run in the crucial 900 Mhz spectrum band used for 2G services.

[caption id=“attachment_264934” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“GSMA may want to lobby against any prejudice to incumbent licence holders when the fresh spectrum auctions are announced. Reuters”]  [/caption]

Two kinds of spectrum auctions are slated to be held in the next 12 months following the cancellation of 122 licences earlier by the Supreme Court.

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While 4G licences will be on offer separately for broadband services, the 2G spectrum is the bigger prize because almost all players have a big stake in it - with incumbents seeking to retain their past status, and the challengers, including the 2G players whose licences were cancelled, seeking a share of some of the more valuable spectrum in the 900 Mhz band. At the very least, they want to keep out the old incumbents from bidding again for the 2G spectrum freed through the cancellation of licences.

It is here that GSMA may want to lobby against any prejudice to incumbent licence holders when the fresh spectrum auctions are announced. The big boys of GSM, led by Bharti’s Sunil Mittal, have ruled the airwaves for decades. The group that went in for CDMA lost out on spectrum and is raising a banner of revolt now. CDMA players were given less spectrum since the technology is inherently more bandwidth efficient.

GSMA’s Director General Anne Bouverot said on Tuesday that the government needs to lay down a clear roadmap for spectrum allocation through a transparent process. Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor said all available spectrum should be auctioned simultaneously. In its submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the spectrum issue, GSMA has already said that all available spectrum in the band, “Both returned spectrum and currently unallocated spectrum, should be made available in the forthcoming auction”.

But this contention of GSM operators has not found favour with later entrants and dual technology players,such as Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, who say that the existing users of the 900 Mhz band should be held back from participating in a fresh auction.