Bharti airtel and Idea Cellular have minced no words in pointing out concerns over dual technology companies Tata Teleservices (TTSL) and Reliance Communications (RCOM) providing exaggerated subscriber numbers. This follows data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which stated that 50 per cent of users added by new operators were active, in contrast to the national average of 70 per cent active users.
The TRAI report added that airtel had over 89 per cent active customers, while Idea Cellular had 88 per cent, followed by Vodafone Essar at 75 per cent. This is in stark contrast to TTSL (at 45-47 per cent for GSM and CDMA operations) and 65-67 per cent for RCOM.
These numbers have been calculated by the regulator based on the visitor location register (VLR) figures released by all operators at the end of September. VLR is a temporary database of subscribers who have roamed into a particular area which it serves. Each base station in the network is served by one VLR and hence a subscriber cannot be present in more than one VLR at a time.
The tussle between operators was kicked off by Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group?s recent statement accusing GSM operators of hoarding spectrum. Thereafter, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti airtel dismissed Tata?s allegation and fully agreed with the government?s decision to issue show cause notices to operators facing various charges relating to the 2G spectrum scam.
Emphasising airtel?s stand on the issue of hoarding spectrum Mittal had commented that the company was in the clear and the government should be allowed to do their job. His comments followed those of Marten Pieters, managing director and CEO, Vodafone Essar who had earlier criticized Ratan Tata?s comment on hoarding spectrum saying that no licence conditions had been violated during the allotment of additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, and no spectrum in excess of what was permissible has been granted to any mobile operator.
Thereafter, Anil Sardana, managing director, Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) joined the fight and said that old GSM operators have made substantial profits by hoarding spectrum, which helped them add large numbers of users over several years. He added that TTSL is merely seeking a level-playing field and is waiting for spectrum in Delhi and 39 other locations for close to three years. Sardana?s comments were in response to Pieter?s viewpoint. Sardana added that such operators needed to refer to and carefully read documents released by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), since these clearly state that some of the incumbents are holding spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz.
TTSL also defended the dual technology licence, saying the company applied only after the government policy was announced and said that dual technology was open to all operators. Sardana had added that the incumbents are doing their best to delay spectrum allotment further, keeping their interest in mind.
