3G CDMA Rollout in Jeopardy - No Spectrum Available!
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Now, this will come as a slap in the face of all telecom majors [both global as well as local] tripping over each other to get a foothold in the Indian telecom market. According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India [TRAI] there is no 3G spectrum available in certain circles for allocation to CDMA players! This is expected to severely cramp the plans of existing as well as new CDMA operators.
It seems that the TRAI Chairman has written a letter to the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) secretary. He has expressed deep concern on the non-availability of CDMA spectrum in certain circles. Not long ago, DoT has approved starting 3G services under the 800 Mhz spectrum.
The dearth of spectrum in the 800 Mhz band, it seems, is acute mainly in Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Orissa. It might sound ’Death Bell’ to the expansion plans of existing CDMA operators like Reliance Communications (RCom), Tata Teleservices (TTSL) and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), which had sought CDMA spectrum for expansion.
Besides this, what is more striking is the timing of this news as this is when global majors like Vodafone are expected to enter the fray. It is feared that this will further delay the roll-out of the 3-G services. The 3G spectrum shortage is also likely to impact the high-speed wireless broadband rollout plans of CDMA players, with operators planning a nationwide rollout of Evolution Value Data Optimised (EVDO), which is a high-speed standard for wireless broadband, primarily supported by the 800 mhz band. Initially the CDMA players had demanded  spectrum under the extended GSM (e-GSM) band  880-890 Mhz band paired with 925-935 Mhz. The GSM lobby has severely opposed this demand and has laid its claim to it.
But the silver lining among the clouds is that the scarcity is not expected to spill over to GSM  which, by the way, is the technology currently used by a majority of mobile users in India. So all’s not lost yet! Hopefully DoT comes up with some relief for the CDMA fraternity in time as well.
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