Warring zone

New Delhi, March 13: A frequency band has become the new bone of contention between GSM players and CDMA operators.

“The 880-890 paired with 925-935 megahertz band” may sound a mouthful, but it is the frequency band used globally by GSM operators and the one which India’s GSM players are eyeing ahead of their CDMA rivals who have got permission to offer GSM services.

The 880-890 paired with 925-935 megahertz band, also called the eGSM band, is currently used for CDMA services.

GSM players now provide their services in the 1800MHz band. They have asked the department of telecom (DoT) not to grant spectrum in the eGSM band to CDMA operators who want to start GSM operations.

“The eGSM band, is globally demarcated for GSM mobile service providers. However, in India the government had been allocating this specific band of radiowaves to CDMA players,” said T.V. Ramachandran, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, in a letter to telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura.

Ramachandran said CDMA operators who were planning to launch GSM services had now requested the DoT to grant them GSM spectrum in the eGSM band, which “is completely untenable and cannot be entertained by the DoT”.

Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices — the two major CDMA operators who are planning to start GSM services — did not comment.

GSM players said when the government makes available the eGSM band, it should give preference to them. This is because the GSM players have been repeatedly seeking access to this spectrum much before the government gave permission to some CDMA operators to offer GSM services.

Officials of the DoT confirmed that CDMA operators entering the GSM space had sought spectrum in the eGSM band.