In a letter to the Department of telecommunications (DoT) the major GSM telcos, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, have insisted on CDMA spectrum in the 800 Mhz band as well.

Currently airwaves frequencies in 900 Mhz band are used for transmitting signals for GSM mobile services.

"We recommend that the 800 MHz spectrum band is harmonized with the international band plan to become part of an "extended" 900 MHz band; this will increase the availability of spectrum in the 900 MHz band by up to 10 MHz (or over 40 per cent)," said a letter written by the three companies to DoT.

The letter signed by Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor, Idea Cellular Managing Director Himanshu Kapania and Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters said If the DoT were to reconfigure the existing 800 Mhz spectrum band the same can be deployed to upgrade existing GSM services or introduce HSPA+ services and other latest technologies for the benefit of Indian society.