Tata Tele to file petition against DoT in TDSAT: CNBC-TV18

10 December 2007

The spectrum war seems all set to hit the next level, reports CNBC-TV18 reports, quoting sources.

CDMA player Tata Telecom is gearing up to file a petition with the telecom tribunal Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the department of telecom. The petition, the report says, will challenge the DOT''s decision to award spectrum to CDMA players in a 2:1 ratio

The petition also says that GSM operators who have occupied more than 6.2 MHz (megahertz), which is more than the contractual limit they are entitled to occupy should be made to vacate it.

It is not only the Tatas but even Anil Ambani of Reliance Communications who has raised this issue several times and even wrote to the PM on this issue. The petition would also ask DoT to continue processing CDMA applications, sources said.

Tata Telecom had applied for GSM spectrum for 20 circles, they add. The petition would be to challenge DoT''s 2:1 spectrum allocation for CDMA operators, sources said.

The GSM industry has for long been averse to the idea of bidding for spectrum, but a changing regulatory environment has made India''s largest GSM operator shift stance.