NEWS /

India to Auction Airwaves For 3G Telephony

01 Aug, 2008, 3:44 pm IST | IANS |

Communications Minister A. Raja Friday announced the much awaited guidelines for the auction of spectrum, or airwaves, to launch third-generation (3G) mobile phone services in the country.


The 3G service will not only allow much faster communications but also a wide range of applications such as high-speed net access, video calls, fast music and video downloads, interactive gaming and global positioning over internet.

"Spectrum in 2.1 GHz band will be allocated for 3G telecom services throughout the country," Raja told a press conference here, adding some 60 MHz of spectrum was available for wireless telephony in the country.

"We may give licenses to up to 10 operators. It depends on the availability of spectrum. Initially, we will have five players. In Delhi and Mumbai, there will be two operators only. The validity of the license will be 20 years."

He said a reserve price of Rs.1.6 billion ($40 million) had been fixed for Delhi, Mumbai and all 'A' category circles, half that for Kolkata and 'B' category circles and Rs.300 million ($7.5 million) for category 'C' circles.

The base price would add up to Rs.28 billion for an all-India licence and the government expects to earn more than Rs.300 billion ($7.5 billion) from the auction of spectrum for 3G services.

State-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) that provides telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai, and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which caters to the rest of the country, need not bid for spectrum but have to pay the highest price.

Raja said his ministry was also in talks with National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, who has been entrusted with the task of finding out how much of the spectrum available with the defense forces can be used for civilian purposes.

"Once the armed forces release spectrum, we may accommodate more operators for 3G services."

Global telecom companies and new entrants in the industry can also bid but they will have to pay an entry fee for the cost of a telecom license over and above their bid price for the spectrum auction.

"We welcome the government's announcement of its 3G policy and believe this will benefit the entire wireless communications ecosystem," said Kanwalinder Singh, president for India operations of Qualcomm - a major player in 3G industry.

"3G will bring efficient voice and rich data services to Indian consumers."

The first 3G networks were rolled out in Japan in 2001 and since then, over 71 countries have adopted some form of the technology.

Many mobile phone subscribers in India - who number 286.86 million today - have been keenly awaiting the launch of 3G services.

Tags: iPhone 3G

RELATED STORIES

Apple may have to give 2.25% royalty to Motorola to end dispute

Apple may have to give 2.25% royalty to Motorola to end dispute

This comes in as the latest, and also a startling update to the ongoing patent tussle between Apple and Motorola Mobility.

Apple to continue with online sales in Germany

Apple stops selling some devices online in Germany

Study reveals that new iPhone doubles data consumption

Apple loses preliminary injunction against Motorola in Germany; iPhone, iPad ban likely

Samsung counter sues Apple in Australia

Kingston Digital Launches Wi Drive for iPad and iPhone

 

Photos

Mugen Power Galaxy Note Battery Pack

Mugen Power Galaxy Note Battery Pack

30 Jan, 2012, 12:52 PM

3.2

Samsung Galaxy Tab 620

Samsung Galaxy Tab 620

25 Jan, 2012, 01:29 PM

3.1

LG Optimus Black P970

LG Optimus Black P970

24 Jan, 2012, 06:11 PM

3.9

MORE PHOTOS

Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order

OPINIONS

Ivor Soans

How time flies. A few weeks ago the BlackBerry world was mad at RIM for a massive 3-day outage. Now,...

MORE OPINIONS

features

Top smartphones under Rs.10,000

Top smartphones under Rs.10,000

Following our list of top smartphones under Rs.20,000 and Rs.15,000, we...

By Karan Shah

Top 5 cameras under Rs.10,000

Top 5 cameras under Rs.10,000

If one is in the market for a point and shot compact camera, they don’t...

By Aaron Almeida

Market Watch: Tablets (Feb 2012)

Market Watch: Tablets (Feb 2012)

Tablets have been making rounds for a while now, but it wasn’t until a...

By Roydon Cerejo , Rajesh D'souza

MORE FEATURES

628 views

926 views

577 views

MORE WALLPAPERS

How To: Install ICS on your Galaxy S

How To: Install ICS on your Galaxy S

10 Feb, 2012, 05:23 AM

On video: MSI WindPad Enjoy 10

On video: MSI WindPad Enjoy 10

09 Feb, 2012, 04:50 AM

On Video: Mercury mTab Neo

On Video: Mercury mTab Neo

08 Feb, 2012, 10:18 AM

2.0

MORE VIDEOS

Close

More from this Author

Android Roars Past iPhone in US