Telecommunications in India has evolved significantly over the past few decades. Private investment was introduced in the 1990s, and regulatory authorities like TRAI were established to oversee the sector. Spectrum was initially allotted without auction, leading to scandals. Current policy aims to increase rural connectivity, adopt new technologies like 4G, and simplify licensing while ensuring adequate spectrum availability. However, issues around spectrum allocation and its pricing continue to be debated.

1. Telecommunications
Background, Technologies, Spectrum

2. Background – Telecom
O In 1881, Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England
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opened telephones exchanges
In 1975 Department of Telecom (DoT) separated from
Indian Post & Telecommunication
In 1985 , MTNL was chipped out of DoT to run the telecom
services of Delhi and Mumbai
In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the
Government for private investment
In1997 TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) was
setup
In 2000, BSNL came into existence
In 2004-07, GSM & CDMA spectrum allotted
In 2008, 3G services came into India
In 2012 ,India has the world's second-largest mobile phone
user base

3. What is Telecommunications?
O It is exchange of information over
significant distances by electronic means
O Mobile phones, satellite phones, landline,
TV , radio
O A basic mobile telecommunication
system consists of three primary units –
Transmitter, Transmitter Medium &
Receiver

4. GSM/CDMA
GSM
CDMA
Divide bandwidth in to time slots
Unique code for every user separately
and allocate bandwidth
900 , 1800 & 1900 MHz
450, 800 & 1900 MHz
Less signal deterioration inside buildings
Consumes less power and covers large
areas
Ability to use repeaters
Likelihood of dropped calls is less
International roaming is not a problem
Generally unable to roam internationally
Interferes with some electronics,
especially certain audio amplifiers
Less interference problems

5. 2G, 3G ,4G
2G
3G
4G
Digitally encrypted
Mobile Internet access
Mobile web access
Greater penetration
levels
Video calls
IP telephony
Data services for mobile
Mobile TV
Gaming services
Helps mobile batteries to
last long
Download speed of
around 200Kbps
High-definition mobile TV
2.5G - GPRS started
Location based services
Video conferencing
2.75 – EDGE started
Video on demand
3D television
2G standard – GSM &
CDMA
3G standards - GSM &
CDMA
4G standards – WiMax &
LTE – Still in
development mode

6. Frequency, Wavelength
O Frequency - Rate at which something
occurs or is repeated over a particular
period of time
O Unit of Frequency -Hertz – Cycles per
second
O Wavelength – Distance from one
amplitude of frequency wave to other
O Frequency = velocity/wavelength

7. Telecom Bodies - India
O TRAI - Central government's regulatory body
O DOT -Part of the Ministry of Communication
O Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate
Tribunal (TDSAT)
O COAI – non government – GSM service
providers
O AUSPI - non government – CDMA service
providers

8. Spectrum
O "Spectrum" is the range of radio
frequencies available for wavelengths.
O In India, the radio frequencies are
arbitrarily confined between 9kHz and
3000 GHz
O Requires the application of complex
engineering tools
O Not consumed upon its usage

9. Spectrum and Mobile
Telephone services
O GSM - 900 and 1800 MHz
O CDMA - 800 MHz band
O International roaming facilities - common
bands are used
O Spectrum for the roll out of 3G services 2.1 GHz

10. Allocation & Need of
Spectrum
O The International Telecommunication Union
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(ITU)
Allocations are made on a regional basis and
for different types of services
It is mandatory for all administrations to
adhere to these allocations
Proposals are discussed and decisions are
taken
Ensure interference free operation for each
radio service

11. Spectrum Allotment
Procedure - India
O DoT has evolved guidelines
O Allotment of extra spectrum, based on the
justification and fulfillment of the
prescribed criteria
O Different categories of service areas,
average traffic per subscriber, number of
base stations in a specified area

12. Spectrum Issue
O From 2004-07, additional spectrum of up to
10 MHz was allotted to incumbents at nil
price, limiting availability to newer operators
O In some cases, 6.2 Mhz was allocated upfront, even though the start-up spectrum was
4.4 MHz
O TRAI announced recommendations for
dual technology in August 2007
O Reliance, Shyam, HFCL, TTSL, BSNL and
MTNL became eligible for GSM spectrum

13. Spectrum Issue
O Reliance, HFCL and Shyam had speculatively
applied in 2006 and were issued approval a day
before public announcement of the Policy
O COAI filed their petition against Dual Technology
O Delhi High Court observed that the UAS license
was technology neutral and that in September
1999, MTNL license had been amended to allow
use of dual technology. They upheld the dual tech
policy and did not find anything wrong in 3
applicants getting approvals before the public
announcement of the policy

14. Spectrum Issue
O Most current allocation completed by the
time new guidelines were announced in Jan
2008. Difficult to get additional allocations of
spectrum even up to the contracted level of
6.2 MHz

15. Spectrum Issue
O 9 operators were allotted spectrum
beyond the limit laid down in the UASL
agreement
O As per the CAG, while the DoT was not
processing pending license applications
due to non availability of spectrum, it was
allotting spectrum to existing operators
beyond the contracted limit without any
charges or without determination of
market price of spectrum

16. Spectrum Issue – TTSL View
O In 2004, criteria for CDMA is changed
O Max. entitlement was 5 Mhz
O CDMA operators had to have 4-12 lac.
subscribers for 5 MHz but for GSM no conditions
upto 6.2 MHz
O In January 2008, Reliance got GSM spectrum in all
circles.
O TTSL applied after policy was announced and had
to wait for 83 days till January 2008 for approval.
TTSL paid Rs.1,659 crores the same day but is still
waiting for startup GSM spectrum in Delhi and 39
districts spread over 9 circles. TTSL is in TDSAT
since Sep 2010

17. Suggested Solution
O All operators must first be given their minimal
contractual entitlement of 6. 2 Mhz of GSM spectrum
O If this means some of the excess spectrum allocated
to existing operators has to be returned and redistributed, then that must be done
O TRAI has recommended reframing of 900 MHz
spectrum by providing incumbent operators
equivalent bandwidth in the 1800 MHz band and
auctioning the 900 MHz spectrum vacated by them
O Incumbent GSM operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone
and Idea have vehemently opposed the reframing of
900 MHz spectrum. They argue that there will be an
additional burden of capex in setting up tower sites
and infrastructure that they will have to bear.

18. 2G Scam
O In 2008, 122 licenses issued to telecom
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operators with limited experience
No auctions were held
85 license are illegal & don’t fulfill criteria
Unitech – Telenor, Swan – Etisalat
Reliance, Airtel got extra spectrum costing
Govt. $8billion.
$39 billion in lost revenue
Investments made already
FDI threat

19. Vodafone Tax Case
O Vodafone Holdings bought CGP Investment
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Holdsing from Hutchisson (HTIL) forn 11.1$
billion at Cayman Island (UK)
Hutchisson Essar Ltd. had its stake in CGP
,Vodafone got 52% of stake in 2007
Bombay High Court issued order against
Vodafone
Rs. 12,000 crore as tax to be paid
Effects FDI , India already ranked at 134 by
World Bank
Supreme court issued statement in favour of
Vodafone

20. National Telecom Policy -2012
O Rural Tele density – To improve rural
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teledensity from the current level of around 39
to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year
2020
Broadband – “’Broadband For All” at a
minimum download speed of 2 Mbps
Domestic Manufacturing - Making India a
global hub
Convergence of Network, Services and
Devices
Liberalization of Spectrum - any Service in
any Technology

21. National Telecom Policy -2012
O Simplification of Licensing regime - Unified
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Licensing, delinking of Spectrum from
License, Online real time submission and
processing
Consumer Focus - Achieve One Nation –
Full Mobile Number Portability and work
towards One Nation – Free Roaming
Resale of Services
VOIP – Voice over Internet Protocol
Cloud Computing – Next Generation
Network including IPV6

22. Thank You
O Presented By:
O Sahil Raina