Ambani, who at the AGM had a phone that could access RCom's GSM signals, said a soft launch of the new network had already taken place in Delhi and Mumbai and the rollout would be complete by the middle of the next year.
However, the question that made him appear defensive may be posed to him many more times in the near future. It may be worded differently, such as, why have two separate networks for a service that is more of less identical. CDMA is said to be more efficient in data transmission, but data is only 7 per cent of the total mobile traffic in India, of which a large part is SMS.
Second, but for Reliance, which has become enamoured of GSM, there would have been very little footprint of CDMA in India. In 1995, Reliance obtained a fixed-line licence.
As technology changed rapidly, it first became possible to offer limited mobility and then full mobility on the fixed-line network by using the CDMA technology. Since the licence was for fixed-line telephony, Reliance's service enjoyed favourable interconnection terms with other fixed-line operators.
The GSM lobby rose in a vociferous protest, saying Reliance was getting to provide mobile services without having to pay for the licence.
Image: An Indian tribal man in his traditional attire talks on his mobile phone outside the Trineteshwar Temple near Ahmedabad. | Photograph: Sam Panthaky/AFP/Getty Images
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