Mobile Spectrum Wars in Asia

The RED HERRING writes that the GSM Association is calling on Asian governments, such as India and Indonesia, to ensure there is proper allocation of radio spectrum for what else, but GSM next generation networks.

At the heart of the problem is limited spectrum due to various reasons, including India's allocation of "large swathes of spectrum" to its defense forces before mobile hit it big, and GSM and CDMA supporters are going all out to lobby governments for it.

Alok Shende at Frost & Sullivan called it a "challenge that the government faces," since "it isn’t easy to allocate "scarce resources between two warring groups."

"They could take the easy way out and farm out spectrum to the highest bidder, but someone with deep pockets would then just buy up what’s available and choke the competition. The government cannot only be concerned about the service provider, but has to think about the consumer, too," Shende added.