DoT to lift S Tel ban

FIPB to take a call on S Tel stake hike application today

Bhaskar Hazarika & Sanjeev Sharma

New Delhi: The controversy over the lawful interception issue for new telecom operator S Tel could end in a couple of days.

A top official in the department of telecom (DoT) on condition of anonymity confirmed to Financial Chronicle that the issue had been resolved and the permission for unrestricted services would be granted to the company.

Lawful interception is a technological process through which security agencies can intercept voice as well as data signals transmitted across telecom networks.

"There have been issues over lawful interception in three circles, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar, and for which DoT had sent a notice to S Tel. The matter has been now resolved and the clearance certificates will be issued within a couple of days," the official said.

According to him, the lawful interception permission is granted by security agencies and renewed from time to time.

The official said that the reason why S Tel was told to stop services in the three circles on March 5 was that the operator had failed to maintain the interception guidelines there. "Once the software for interception is installed or restored, as promised by the company, DoT will lift the ban," he added.

S Tel's chief executive officer, Shamik Das, told Financial Chronicle, "We have had talks with DoT and the matter is getting resolved. We are expecting a communication from the department." S Tel also met communications and minister A Raja to resolve the issue of lawful interception.

S Tel had earlier challenged in the Supreme Court the DoT decision to advance the cut-off date for applying for new 2G licences from October 1 to September 25 in 2007.

The company has licences to operate in six circles and has begun operations in three where it has 8,00,000 subscribers. Das said the company was waiting for spectrum to start services in the remaining three circles --North East, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir.

In January S Tel grabbed 20 per cent of all new subscribers. It added to its base 3,64,000 subscribers in that month.

S Tel is a joint venture between the Chennaibased Siva group and Bahrain Telecom Company (Batelco), which has 42.7 per cent in the telecom company. S Tel has sought approval from the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) to hike the foreign direct investment in it to 49 per cent. The application will be taken up for consideration on Friday.

© Financial Chronicle

3G auctions slated on April 9

DoT to issue NIA for prospective bidders on Thrusday

Bhaskar

New Delhi: The government has announced to hold the 3G spectrum auctions on April 9. The Notice Inviting Applications from prospective bidders will be issued tomorrow. The last date for receiving applications from bidders is on March 19. The government will hold mock auctions on April 5 and 6. Two days after the 3G auctions are held, the government will start the auction for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) or WiMax spectrum.

© Time

Telecom babus have no official mail IDs

WPC employees do more paper work as they do not have official email IDs

Bhaskar Hazarika

New Delhi: India might move to the faster wireless broadband once the government decides to auction the WiMax and 3G spectrum, but the employees of Wirless Planning and Coordination (WPC), wing under the ministry of Communications and IT responsible for spectrum management, are yet to be connected with an official email address.

An official in the ministry of communications and IT told Financial Chronicle that apart from the Wireless advisor and five to six deputy wireless advisors, the majority workforce of 500 people does not own an official email address. “When the country is moving to the next generation technology and we are talking about broadband wireless access spectrum and high speed data on 3G, the authority responsible for frequency management does not have access to email. The employee grade above only the deputy wireless advisor has access to an official email,” he said.The government is planning to conduct the auctions for the 3G and WiMax spectrum by the end of this year.

WPC is the national radio regulatory authority responsible for frequency spectrum management, including licensing and caters to the needs of all wireless users in the country. The government before allocation of spectrum consults WPC on spectrum issues. On the recommendations of WPC, spectrum is allotted to operators depending upon the availability. The Department of Telecom has also allotted official email addresses to officials only above the rank of assistant advisor and assistant director. With India moving ahead to implement next generation technologies, the authority is yet to implement it in their respective departments. “For the government employees email is treated as a perk and not a facility. You are allotted email addresses after an official is promoted to a certain level,” said the communications ministry official.

But other government ministries such as finance and petroleum have allotted official email addresses to employees. An official in the finance ministry said, “Employees are allotted official email addresses but most of them prefer to use their personal emails. We have access to official email.”

© Financial Chronicle

TRAI gears up for 2G allocation policy

Regulator set up a spectrum cell to look at 2G and 3G allocation policy and pricing

Bhaskar Hazarika

New Delhi, February 15: Auctions for third-generation (3G) spectrum may have delayed, but there could be hope for telcos waiting for allotment of 2G spectrum. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is readying itself prior to the allocation of 3G and 2G spectrum by setting up a spectrum cell. The spectrum cell would facilitate recommendations for both 2G and 3G allocation policy.

Department of Telecom (DoT) had received 232 applications for Unified Access Service License (UASL) till September 25, 2007. Of the total 122 applicants have been Letters of Intent (LoI). Apart from existing telecom companies seeking for additional spectrum, new operators such as Sistema Shyam, Uninor and S Tel are in the queue to receive fresh spectrum in some of the selected circles.

This move comes after the regulator received mixed response from the telcos on allocation of additional 2G spectrum. The regulator is yet to take a call on auctioning of 2G spectrum.

A senior official from the ministry of communications and IT told Financial Chronicle that the spectrum cell would include experts dealing with spectrum allocation and auctions. “At present the spectrum cell has two people, one from TRAI and the other from Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC). Additional number of experts are likely to join the cell, which will look at different aspects of spectrum allocation and pricing,” the official said.

He said that the spectrum cell has been created with the objective to look at the minute details on the auction of additional 2G spectrum. “There have been mixed views on the auction of 2G spectrum. The regulator is yet to decide if 2G spectrum should be auctioned to telcos, up and above the start up spectrum of 4.4 MHz or above 6.2 MHz. Also there have been discussions on the pricing of 2G, the expert committee will take a call on formulating the recommendations. It would also look in to sharing and trading of spectrum, cap on the number of service providers in a circle and merger and acquisition,” the official added.

The operators have been demanding early allocation of 2G spectrum, prior to the start of 3G auctions, which is scheduled to take place in September 2010. Telecom regulator is working to come up with a consultation paper on allocation of additional 2G spectrum.

WPC, wing under the Ministry of Communications and IT, is responsible for spectrum management. In a recent move WPC has written to the ministry for hiring experts for managing the 3G spectrum and WiMax auction processes. With 3G and WiMax spectrum auctions round the corner, WPC has sought for additional manpower to manage the auctions. With this initiative from the regulator in setting up the spectrum cell, it is unlikely that the government would grant additional manpower to WPC.

© Financial Chronicle

NY Special: What if India leapfrogs to 4G?

Bhaskar Hazarika

New Delhi: India has already missed the bus to launch third-generation (3G) mobile services in the country. But this could be a blessing in disguise for the mobile operators if India leapfrogs to fourth-generation (4G). According to industry experts, Indian operators can move forward to 4G without rolling out 3G services. This could be another instance when India’s neighbour Pakistan is planning to leapfrog to 4G services.

Globally number of countries is testing 4G on the network after implementing 3G on the network. However, for India we are yet to log on to the third-generation services. Leapfrogging to 4G would prove to be a technology advantage for operators, since the 4G technology is 10 times spectral efficient compared to 3G. The 3G frequency bands identified by the ministry of communications and IT are compatible to roll out 4G services.

Joint secretary, department of telecom (DoT), JS Deepak said, “4G frequency bands or Long Term Evolution (LTE) is under consideration with DoT and Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC). The ministry is carrying out a study on the 700 MHz frequency band if it could be used for WiMax or fourth generation (4G) services.” It should be noted that the government has taken a ‘technology neutral stand’ on the spectrum to be allocated for 3G services. This could be the first initiative from the government to open a window towards the 4G space.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) version 10, which is considered to be 4G, is being designed and will be available by the end of 2010. The present day LTE under implementation is considered as 3.9G. Since the spectrum for 3G will be available for private telecom operators by August 2010, it would be the right move for India to go for 4G, as the equipments for 4G will be available by the end of 2010. Union minister for communications and IT, Andimuthu Raja clearly stated, “Allotment of spectrum to maintain level playing field will be allotted to the successful bidders by August 2010.”

According to telecom expert and former advisor of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Satyen N Gupta India should leapfrog to 4G and skip 3G, as there has been delay in the auction of spectrum. Gupta said that time is ripe for India to directly move to 4G. “Government and the regulator should be technologically agnostic while allocating spectrum. There should be no mandate that the proposed 3G spectrum should be used only to roll out 3G services. The operators should be given freedom to offer either 3G or 4G services,” Gupta said.

He said that the existing 3G frequency bands, which the government is planning to auction is compatible to offer 4G services. All the 3G frequency bands, which are under International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), can be used for 4G. The Indian government has identified frequency bands in the 1.9 GHz to 2.1 GHz for auction.

Chief corporate affairs officer, Idea Cellular, Rajat Mukarji said that moving to 4G is a desirable direction… Yes, 3G can be leapfrogged. “We have been talking about 3G for more than 3 years and may be it has lost its meaning. Moving to 4G is a logical direction. We talk about mobile broadband but we should know that it is critical for the country. From the existing 2.5G to 4G is a quantum jump, but on thing that should be noted that it will be expensive to roll out 3G services at this point,” he added.

According to ABI research, the total number of 4G subscribers worldwide, including both LTE and WiMAX, is expected to exceed 90 million in 2013.

What is 4G?

4G technology is sometimes referred as ‘MAGIC,’ --- Mobile multimedia, Anytime-anywhere, Global mobility support, Integrated wireless and Customized personal service.

4G has three major characteristics: The download speed is 100 megabytes per second; It is based on internet protocol technology; Ubiquity as it is interoperable with the lower generation technologies. The distinctive quality of 4G networks is likely to use a combination of WiMAX and WiFi. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have identified that 4G will have data download speed of 100-mega bit per second and it is completely based on IP technology.

© Financial Chronicle

Stay on 10-digit mobile number, 'ENUM' the solution

E-numbering can help avoid 11-digit regime

Bhaskar Hazarika

New Delhi, December 23: India can adopt telephone number mapping to avoid migrating from 10-digit mobile number to an 11-digit number. The ever-increasing number of fresh subscribers every month has exhausted the allotment of new serial mobile numbers available with the department of telecom (DoT), forcing the industry to seek migration to the 11-digit solution.

The national numbering plan 2003 was formulated to meet the growing mobile subscriber base in the country. The 10-digit numbering pattern was projected to meet the industry growth figures for the next 50 years. However, the 10-digit number series has already got exhausted in six years.

The ENUM or electronic numbering is a technology adopted by some of the mobile-rich countries to meet the growing requirement of the mobile industry. The ENUM technology is being adopted by Malaysia and the UK to meet the increasing number of telecom subscribers.

Telephone number mapping is the process through which the telephone network (public-switched telephone network) is unified with the Internet address using the Internet protocol (IP). This technology will be similar to the model available in Internet connectivity whereby each Internet connection has a unique IP address.

According to telecom expert Satyen N Gupta, “The problem of a single universal personal identifier for multiple communication services can be resolved using this technology. Once adopted, the numbering pattern will not require migrating from 10 to 11 digit or more despite surge in the mobile subscriber base.”

A senior DoT official told Financial Chronicle, “So-me countries where there is unprecedented growth in mobile (subscribers) are adopting new technology to meet the number crunch. We are aware of ENUM or telephone number mapping, but have not taken up the project.”At present, technology companies such as Telcordia Technologies and Neustar Inc are offering the number mapping.

When contacted, secretary general of Association of Unified Service Providers of India (Auspi), S C Khanna said, “There are technologies that could be adopted to meet the growing demand but migration to 11 digit is an easier route. With more than 8 to 9 operators in a single circle and a couple of new operators likely to launch services, we need to meet the crunch.”

© Financial Chronicle