Both Reliance Industries and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal have
rejected the GSM lobby’s allegations that the government is unduly
favouring the Mukesh Ambani-promoted company by allowing Reliance Jio
Infocomm to offer voice services using 4G spectrum.
In a strongly worded letter to the Department of Telecom, RIL-backed Reliance Jio has countered that the COAI is making the wild allegations as the incumbent GSM biggies don’t want to lose their “monopoly” over the mobile voice market.
Meanwhile, Sibal has told the Economic Times that the decision to allow voice services on 4G band was based on the suggestions made by Trai and Telecom Commission.
“The regulator said that everyone should be allowed to migrate to a Unified Licence and then offer voice,” Sibal has been quoted as saying in the ET report.
He has also said that any decision that “increases competition and reduces tariff was good for consumers”.
The telecom commission had recently said that firms with the broadband wireless access (BWA) airwaves can provide voice services along with high-speed Internet by paying an additional Rs 1,658 crore.
In the letter to the DoT yesterday evening, Reliance Jio Infocomm has used part sarcasm, part logic and part bravado to point out that the incumbents’ objections on DoT allowing Reliance to offer voice services on its BWA spectrum are frivolous, motivated, misleading and anti consumer.
It has further alleged that incumbents have used the present scenario
where many smaller telcos had to exit (due to the cancellation of their
licenses by the Supreme Court) to raise tariffs.
“In our opinion, the current unfolding of events shows the incumbent cellular operators and their association COAI are scared of the new competition.
They fear that implementation of the Unified License (UL) regime will deprive them of their monopoly over the mobile voice market and therefore they are now opposing the very implementation of such regime and other pro consumer policies of the Government like One Nation-One License and One Nation-Free Roaming etc,” the letter said.
Reliance is the only pan-India 4G spectrum holder and this letter is obviously in response to allegations made by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which is the lobby of incumbent GSM biggies. There is very real fear out there – if Reliance is allowed to offer voice over broadband, it can provide very stiff competition to other BWA spectrum holders such as Bharti Airtel.
Reliance forked out over Rs 12,800 crore to bag pan-India BWA spectrum in 2010, much more than competitors shelled out. Officials at DoT confirmed this evening that COAI objections notwithstanding, the recommendations of a committee which allowed Reliance to offer voice on payment of Rs 1658 crore have been ratified by the Telecom Commission and the DoT has already accepted this recommendation. So for all COAI’s objections are worth, Reliance will get exactly what it wants.
Two days back, COAI wrote said the policy of allowing broadband players to offer voice telephony was illegal. It had alleged that in the notice inviting application, issued prior to the broadband spectrum auction in 2010, it was clearly written that companies that chose to pick an Internet service provider licence (ISP) will not be permitted to offer voice service.
The COAI further said the DoT has stopped 3G operators from offering intra-circle roaming services on grounds that the notice inviting application (NIA) did not include this. “The DoT is clearly violating the provisions of the notice inviting application for broadband auction. Differential interpretation cannot be given to the NIA for two auctions with different outcomes for two set of operators,” COAI said.
The COAI had earlier said that it supported the policy as long as the DoT was charging Rs 1,658 crore from the broadband operators. But in its rebuttal, Reliance has emphasised that voice services were always allowed under BWA spectrum “provided one holds or obtains the relevant license.” Now that the battle has gone in favour of Reliance, its best that incumbent GSM telcos gird up their loins and prepare to fight Reliance in the 4G market.
In a strongly worded letter to the Department of Telecom, RIL-backed Reliance Jio has countered that the COAI is making the wild allegations as the incumbent GSM biggies don’t want to lose their “monopoly” over the mobile voice market.
Meanwhile, Sibal has told the Economic Times that the decision to allow voice services on 4G band was based on the suggestions made by Trai and Telecom Commission.
“The regulator said that everyone should be allowed to migrate to a Unified Licence and then offer voice,” Sibal has been quoted as saying in the ET report.
He has also said that any decision that “increases competition and reduces tariff was good for consumers”.
The telecom commission had recently said that firms with the broadband wireless access (BWA) airwaves can provide voice services along with high-speed Internet by paying an additional Rs 1,658 crore.
In the letter to the DoT yesterday evening, Reliance Jio Infocomm has used part sarcasm, part logic and part bravado to point out that the incumbents’ objections on DoT allowing Reliance to offer voice services on its BWA spectrum are frivolous, motivated, misleading and anti consumer.
It has further alleged that incumbents have used the present scenario where many smaller telcos had to exit .AFP
“In our opinion, the current unfolding of events shows the incumbent cellular operators and their association COAI are scared of the new competition.
They fear that implementation of the Unified License (UL) regime will deprive them of their monopoly over the mobile voice market and therefore they are now opposing the very implementation of such regime and other pro consumer policies of the Government like One Nation-One License and One Nation-Free Roaming etc,” the letter said.
Reliance is the only pan-India 4G spectrum holder and this letter is obviously in response to allegations made by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which is the lobby of incumbent GSM biggies. There is very real fear out there – if Reliance is allowed to offer voice over broadband, it can provide very stiff competition to other BWA spectrum holders such as Bharti Airtel.
Reliance forked out over Rs 12,800 crore to bag pan-India BWA spectrum in 2010, much more than competitors shelled out. Officials at DoT confirmed this evening that COAI objections notwithstanding, the recommendations of a committee which allowed Reliance to offer voice on payment of Rs 1658 crore have been ratified by the Telecom Commission and the DoT has already accepted this recommendation. So for all COAI’s objections are worth, Reliance will get exactly what it wants.
Two days back, COAI wrote said the policy of allowing broadband players to offer voice telephony was illegal. It had alleged that in the notice inviting application, issued prior to the broadband spectrum auction in 2010, it was clearly written that companies that chose to pick an Internet service provider licence (ISP) will not be permitted to offer voice service.
The COAI further said the DoT has stopped 3G operators from offering intra-circle roaming services on grounds that the notice inviting application (NIA) did not include this. “The DoT is clearly violating the provisions of the notice inviting application for broadband auction. Differential interpretation cannot be given to the NIA for two auctions with different outcomes for two set of operators,” COAI said.
The COAI had earlier said that it supported the policy as long as the DoT was charging Rs 1,658 crore from the broadband operators. But in its rebuttal, Reliance has emphasised that voice services were always allowed under BWA spectrum “provided one holds or obtains the relevant license.” Now that the battle has gone in favour of Reliance, its best that incumbent GSM telcos gird up their loins and prepare to fight Reliance in the 4G market.
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