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Tata Teleservices, a mobile service provider under the CDMA technology, on 16th April,  obtained frequencies to roll out operations under rival GSM segment in Tamil Nadu circle.The Mumbai-based operator received start-up spectrum of 4.4 mega hertz (MHz).Tata Teleservices has applied for GSM spectrum for rolling out its network in the entire country. The Department of Telecommunications has so far allotted start-up spectrum to Videocon-promoted Datacom, Idea Cellular, Unitech, Swan Telecom and Ruias-owned Loop Telecom in the Tamil Nadu circle.

Tatas earlier claimed that the company have the first legitimate right to get GSM spectrum under dual technology ahead of Reliance Communications as they applied first after the policy of dual technology was made public. However, the government considered Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communication’s application for GSM spectrum ahead of others including Tata Teleservices. Reliance Communications has already been given spectrum in all the circles making it first company to have both CDMA and GSM technologies for mobile services through out the country.

Tata Teleservices has been given start up 4.4 MHz GSM spectrum in Tamil Nadu along with five new telecom players. Tatas have applied for GSM spectrum for pan India and is hoping to get the frequency in rest of the circles as and when the Department of Telecom (DoT) allocates to other new players depending upon its availability.

In a major development, the government today started allocating spectrum to new telecom players, with Shyam-Sistema becoming the first to receive start up radio frequency for starting CDMA services in various parts of the country. Shyam-Sistema, a joint venture India’s Shyam Telelinks and Russia’s Sistema, has been given 2.5 MHz (equivalent of 4.4 MHz of GSM) in the seven states of North-East, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam.

Rajiv Mehrotra, Chairman of Shyam Group, said, “We are delighted that the government has opened up the way for new telecom players to operate telecom services as soon as possible and this is a major step towards offering cost-effective mobile services”. He also added that they were waiting for the formal letter from the Wireless Planning Coordination (WPC) wing on the allotment of radio frequency. Asked about rest of the circles like Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Bihar, UP and four southern states, Mehrotra said they were expecting to get it soon. The company has already started the process of rolling out networks in all the circles and should be ready to start services by the year end.

Russian conglomerate has already announced up to five billion dollar (Rs 20,000 crore) investment in the Indian telecom sector. Shyam-Sistema, which currently offers mobile service in Rajasthan, has got licenses for rest of the circles. Asked about the company’s plans to enter GSM arena, company officials said they would be seeking GSM spectrum under the dual technology clause. But allocation of CDMA spectrum would give advantage to Shyam-Sistema joint venture to start services faster ahead of other new telecom players.

DoT officials said that Communication Minister A Raja has cleared the file for allocating spectrum to Shyam and may start releasing GSM frequency from next week onward. Apportioning of spectrum among new service providers will pave the way for more competition and cheaper tariffs. Telecom Minister A Raja had said that entry of 5-6 new telecom players would bring mobile tariffs down by at least 50 per cent from the current level and will also help reduce domestic long distance charges.

India’s BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.) awarded a GSM expansion contract valued at over US$100 million to Canada-based telecommunications solution provider Nortel Networks on 25th March,2008. BSNL, which currently serves 20 million cellular subscribers, is actively growing its network reach and capacity to meet increased demand for mobile telephony services across the country. This project focuses on southern areas of the country. Deployment is underway and completion is expected in 2008.

BSNL has selected Nortel to support its southern Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network expansion with a very aggressive roll-out schedule, Nortel said in a statement. With this selection, BSNL can build on and maximise its existing network investment and rapidly extend mobile services to new subscribers, it added. BSNL, with over 20 million cellular subscribers, is actively growing its network reach and capacity to meet increased demand for mobile telephony services across the country. From 2004,Nortel has worked closely with BSNL in rolling out mobile services to some seven million customers in the southern and eastern parts of India.

Richard Lowe, Nortel President (Carrier Networks) said that India represents an enormous opportunity for Nortel in the carrier space, with its consistently high growth rates and increasingly mobile population. And we have redesigned our GSM portfolio with this kind of opportunity in mind, making our solution much more cost competitive, without compromising the performance, capacity and coverage, he added.