The new players in the 2G space have written to Kapil Sibal, Minister of Telecommunications and IT requesting for spectrum up to 6.2 Mhz at no additional charge.
The operators include Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), Videocon, Uninor, Reliance Communications, STel, HFCL Infotel and Tata Teleservices Limited.
These operators hold initial start up spectrum and are awaiting the next tranche of spectrum. Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering a proposal to impose a one-time fee for the additional spectrum.
While GSM players have been given 4.4 Mhz start-up spectrum, CDMA operators have got 2.5 Mhz. According to these operators, their licences entitle them to get up to 6.2 Mhz of GSM spectrum and 5 Mhz of CDMA spectrum without any additional fee. ?Any change to the already existing contractual arrangements with regard to allocation of additional 1.8/2.5 Mhz will be highly discriminatory, against the principle of level playing field and likely to derail our business plan,? the eight operators said in the joint letter.
An internal DoT committee has suggested that all operators should be asked to pay a fee for spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz for GSM players and over 2.5 Mhz for CDMA operators.
