India is set to leapfrog to the next level of mobile technology with the government on Wednesday finally allocating the third generation (3G) spectrum to private telecom companies.
The 3G technology will allow mobile users to make video calls and will also enable them to download data much faster on their mobile phones. The major telecom firms are hopeful of launching 3G services by the end of the current financial year. 3G phones are already available in the market, some for prices as low as `5,000.
The telecom companies which secured 3G licences in the auction held earlier in different telecom circles received the spectrum on Wednesday. These include Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Tata, Idea Cellular and Aircel. In New Delhi and Mumbai, besides MTNL, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance will offer 3G services. In AP, Bharti Airtel, Idea and Aircel are the private operators offering 3G. No single telecom company has got a licence to offer 3G throughout the country.
The government had allocated 3G spectrum to state-run BSNL and MTNL around one year ago.
The government had to make amendments in the telecom licence rules to allow allocation of 3G spectrum. Initially, it was feared that the 3G spectrum allocation could be delayed due to the reluctance of the defence forces to vacate spectrum. While 3G services are all set to take off, on the flip side India is launching this service quite late. Many parts of the world are already working towards switching to 4G.
Under the amended rules, operators have been authorised to use 3G spectrum for 20 years. The government has imposed a rollout obligation, under which service providers would have to cover at least 90 per cent of areas in the metros within the next five years.