Reliance Communications to enhance focus on GSM : Anil Ambani

Anil Ambani says that there will be an enhanced focus on GSM, even as the company seeks to remain technology neutral. CNBC-TV18 reports the details of the analyst conference call.

Anil Ambani has finally broken his silence on Reliance Communications' GSM rollout plans. In an analyst conference call after the company's impressive Q1 numbers, Ambani said that there would be a sharper focus on GSM. Reliance Communications will enhance capacities in its seven GSM circles.

He said that the company was confident that it would get a spectrum clearance for a fresh rollout in circles where it offers only CDMA. The management says that this confidence emanates from the ongoing talks with the Department of Telecom. RCL also will not go in for a "dual-tariff scheme".

That's because Ambani says tariffs will not be a function of technology. The existing retail outlets will be used to sell GSM offerings. But Ambani reiterated that the company would seek to stay technology neutral and continue to grow and invest in GSM and CDMA.

And what about Qualcomm? Many analysts felt that Ambani's GSM call was only meant to create more negotiating space with Qualcomm on royalties. That doesn't seem to be the case. This is despite the fact that Ambani was emphatic in his criticism of Qualcomm.

He told analysts that the CDMA ecosystem continued to remain challenging and Qualcomm's rigid stance on royalty was not helping CDMA operators like RCL to bring affordability to Indian customers.