The Hindu Business Line : DoT allocates 3G spectrum to 7 telcos for trials

In a bid to kick-start 3G mobile services in the country, the Department of Telecom has allotted spectrum to seven telecom companies and Dishnet to conduct trials across 17 cities in the country.

The companies that have been given 3G spectrum are Bharti Airtel, Aircel Cellular, Idea Cellular, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance Telecom and Hutch. The trials are proposed to be conducted in Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chennai, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, Shillong, Jammu, Shimla, Patna, Guwahati, Siliguri, Pune, Hyderabad, Howrah, Chandigarh and Kolkata. The trial services will not be available for retail users.

The companies had approached DoT for allocation of frequency in the 2.1 Ghz band, which is primarily used for Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA)-based 3G services to be launched by GSM operators.

For CDMA players such as Tata Teleservices, DoT has given the nod for trials in the 1900 Mhz frequency band. The CDMA trials are expected to be carried out by January 2008. Chinese manufacturer ZTE will provide the technology for the trials.

Third generation services will enable mobile users to access high-speed data and better quality voice services.

The technology is expected to add to the revenues of the operators through value-added services. According to DoT sources, 3G trials have already been started by State-owned BSNL.

DoT said that 3G services may hit the market by mid 2007. The telecom regulator has made its recommendations to the Government and the final policy is likely to be announced the final policy over the next two months.

Some of the issues that the Government will be considering include whether or not to lower the entry fee as requested by the industry, to limit the bidding process to existing licence holders or to allow new players to come in and whether to allow the use of 1900Mhz band for 3G services by CDMA operators.

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