BSNL seeking nationwide CDMA services - minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has applied to launch nationwide mobile telecom services on the CDMA platform, the telecoms minister said in a statement in parliament on Monday.

BSNL, India's fourth-largest mobile firm, operates on the dominant GSM platform across the country, and currently uses CDMA technology only for limited-mobility phone services.

Minister Andimuthu Raja did not provide any other details on the application or on how the government would process it.

In November, the head of BSNL had said the firm was considering launching CDMA services nationwide, after the government permitted telecom firms to use alternate platforms.

BSNL, as an "incumbent player", is exempt from the licence fee private telecoms firms have to pay to launch alternate technology services, the government had said.

The government decision permitting dual technology was challenged by a lobby group of telecoms firms using the GSM platform, and the issue is being heard by the telecoms tribunal.