Mobile phone users in Delhi and Mumbai may soon get over the problems of call drops, busy networks and poor connectivity. The two largest operators in the two cities, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, may get extra spectrum for Delhi and Mumbai under the existing subscriber-base norms.
Official sources say this will avoid a direct face-off with other GSM operators, especially in the light of the recent recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which has set a certain increase in the number of subscribers as a norm for getting extra spectrum. The department of telecommunication is likely to treat Mumbai and Delhi circles as exceptions to this recommendation.
Most of Bharti and Vodafone subscribers are in Delhi and Mumbai and, consequently, the network congestion is the maximum in these two cities. Therefore, more spectrum to the two operators would not raise the hackles of other GSM operators. In the other circles, there is no immediate spectrum requirement, which leaves the DoT with sufficient time to work on the Trai recommendations.
But Bharti Airtel and Vodafone may have to pay a one-time additional charge for the extra spectrum, as has been recommended by Trai.
Giving the two operators more spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai is seen as a strategic move by the DoT to avoid any litigation in the sector. At the same time, it will be able to work peacefully on a comprehensive 2G spectrum policy.
A recent Trai recommendation has increased circle-specific subscriber-base requirement 2 to 5 times for an operator to be eligible for extra spectrum. It has also proposed a one-time additional charge for spectrum beyond 8 Mhz. Both Bharti and Vodafone have at present 10 Mhz each in Delhi and Mumbai.
To put it simply, an operator having 2.1 million subscribers in Delhi and Mumbai is eligible for a maximum of 15 Mhz spectrum. Bharti has a subscriber base of 3.42 million in Delhi and 2.10 million in Mumbai. Vodafone has 2.82 users in Delhi as well as in Mumbai. So, both these operators are eligible for an extra 5 Mhz in keeping with the present norms.
The new Trai norms, however, propose that the eligibility norms be increased to 5 million subscribers. This means if Trai?s enhanced User-base criterion is considered, only Bharti will get extra spectrum, and that, too, just half of 5 Mhz, in Delhi.