Updated on 27th july:
Bharti Airtel Ltd., India's largest wireless phone services provider, offers 3G services in several locations, including Seychelles, Jersey in the Channel Islands, and soon Sri Lanka, but plans to launch their services in India have not yet been solidified.
Bharti Airtel is awaiting government approval to launch 3G services, according to Sunil Mittal, chairman and managing director of the Bharti Group. But it is a process fraught with complications. A policy must be laid out, spectrum allocated and license fees fixed. Most importantly, the government must decide how many 3G operators will be approved.
Events in recent weeks have highlighted the plan's slow progress, with the replacement of India's Minister of Communications and the cancellation of an inter-ministerial debate regarding additional spectrum for wireless services. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has long promised a 3G policy, but no deadlines have been established. The Telecoms Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the advisory body for the ministry of communications, submitted its views on 3G rollout nearly a year ago, but little progress has been made since then.
The latest round of confusion arose when the defense ministry was asked to vacate spectrum for use by wireless service providers, but the ministry requested alternate spectrum before relinquishing its frequencies. That process will begin in the coming months, but GSM operators now suspect that companies offering WiMAX services are trying to claim part of the spectrum for 3G.
According to an analyst, "3G is likely to roll out in India in early 2008 instead of the planned roll out this year. This is because of the delay by the defense services in vacating the spectrum which it currently occupies. The defense forces are moving to the alternative fiber optic backbone created for it," said Mayank Jain, research analyst at market researcher In-Stat.
Apart from government lethargy, there are two likely sources of delay in India's launch of 3G services. First is the conflict between the strong, opposing lobbies of the GSM-based and CDMA-based operators. If, for instance, the government were to allocate spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band for CDMA-based operators as it has indicated it might, GSM operators are likely to complain that it causes interference in their services. With the continued growth of India's wireless services business, both lobbies are sure to use their considerable clout to service their interests.
The second complication is that numerous overseas firms are eager to enter the Indian market with 3G services, to capitalize on the current stock prices, wireless phone operator profits, and the market's anticipated growth. Indian operators are reluctant to surrender the market to foreign firms, as evidenced by Vodafone's Arun Sarin's recent assertion that the company faced various hurdles when it entered the Indian market by picking up equity in a local operator.
There is much at stake for all parties. Pradip Baijal, former chairman of the TRAI, said that India's biggest asset is its huge market, and the 2G operators have performed brilliantly. To allow new operators for 3G and thereby starve 2G operators of spectrum would be unfair and shortsighted, so consultation with 2G operators must precede the implementation of the new 3G policy, he said.
Given Baijal's experience at the helm, he understands the numerous complications that can delay the process of policy development. It may be well to remember that India has not been technology-neutral in the past, allowing GSM services in 1998 but letting in CDMA only years later. As the wireless phone services market continues to expand, the immediate future of India's 3G industry remains uncertain.
Hi guys...
Lets discuss news and information about 3G Technology here...
What is 3G?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G
all this we know...
but wht is the situation in india so far..
anyone can contribute to this topic..
thnks again in advance for replies
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