The Hindu Business Line : 3G policy by February

The Department of Telecom (DoT) is all set to announce its policy on third generation (3G) mobile services by February. Highly placed sources in DoT said that an internal committee would submit its report within the next ten days after which the policy will be finalised.

DoT officials indicated that the policy would adopt a dual band system whereby both 2.1 GHz and 1900 Mhz will be opened up for 3G services.

Internal Committee

"We are trying to take a broad-based view of the recommendations made by the telecom regulator, which will be acceptable to all the stakeholders," said a DoT official. On the controversial 1900 Mhz band, DoT said that the issue was not whether or not to allocate 1900 Mhz band for CDMA players but whether it will cause interference with 2.1 GHz band and how to deal with it. "In case there is interference then we will find ways to negate that through technological means. For that purpose we have asked the operators to conduct trials and give us a report," said the official.

CDMA operators including Tata Teleservices have been demanding bandwidth in 1900 Mhz on the ground that it was cheaper to roll out 3G services in that band compared to other frequency.

The GSM camp, on the other hand, have been blocking the move to open up 1900 Mhz on the ground that it would cause interference with their 3G services on 2.1 Ghz band. "We will ensure that there is no interference. However, we will await the report of the internal committee to take a final view on this issue," said DoT officials.

Auction Method

Mr S.C. Khanna, Secretary General, Association of Unified Service Providers of India, said that CDMA operators have applied for spectrum for conducting trials and are awaiting clearance from the Wireless Planning Co-ordination wing. DoT sources also said that the 3G spectrum will be priced and the auction method suggested by the telecom regulator to allocate frequency may be adopted.

Third generation mobile services will enable users to get high-speed broadband services on mobile handset. It will also enable operators to offer better quality of services.

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