The TRAI recommendations are in favour of GSM operators as they favour them to straightaway enter into 3G services by getting allocation of spectrum in the IMT2000 band.
The current recommendations only ensure that India will become an isolated island in the wireless world of mobile telecommunications because TRAI’s recommended spectrum allocation only favours the GSM industry where equipment and handsets are already available to offer GSM-based 3G services.
As international comparison, TRAI has clearly stated that spectrum allocation of GSM is 2×20 MHz and for CDMA it is 2×14 MHz against which, in India, GSM operators already have 2×15 MHz spectrum whereas CDMA operators have a mere 2×5 MHz.
As for 3G services, the allegations of COAI about the so-called `back door entry’ of CDMA operators through EV-DO, we wish to clarify that this is a baseless allegation by those who have already entered into 3G in India in their allocated band by deploying the EDGE platform. EDGE is a 3G technology endorsed by the ITU and there is no limitation to its deployment.
