India makes it to the global 3G map

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh put the country on the global 3G map on Thursday when he launched the services on state-owned Mahanagar
Telephone Nigam’s (MTNL) networks in Delhi.

The 3G platform will enable telcos to offer high-end services such as high-speed internet, video conferencing on mobiles, interactive gaming, ultra fast downloads of video and music clips amongst other services. The PM also witnessed for sometime a live telecast of the India-England Test match on a mobile handset using 3G services.

MTNL also became the first teleco in India to launch these high-end services which it has christened ‘Jadoo’. But the commercial launch of 3G will happen in January ’09. MTNL executives present in the event said the PM had only kicked off the ‘soft launch’ and that some parts of central Delhi would have free access to these services during the test phase.

MTNL does not want to charge for these services during the soft launch phase as it wants customers to first experience 3G services. “We will also launch 3G in Mumbai by the end-of January,” MTNL CMD RSP Sinha told ET. MTNL offers mobile services
in Delhi and Mumbai. Mr Sinha said that MTNL was yet to take a call on the 3G tariffs. “It depends on the amount of data usage. Our 3G pricing cannot be different from existing prices across the world. The pricing will be affordable, sustainable and likeable to all,” he said. The company will invest Rs 400 crore to set up 3G networks across Delhi and Mumbai and hoping to add 200,000 subscribers on this platform.

State-owned BSNL will do a soft launch of its 3G services by the end of December, its CMD Kuldeep Goyal told ET. All other telecom companies will have to wait a lot longer for launching these high-end services. This is because, auction for the radio frequencies on which 3G services work is slated to take place in early 2009.

“After the auction, the government will have to give us spectrum. We will take six months from the date of allotment of spectrum to launch 3G services. Bharti hopes to launch commercial 3G services by 2009-end,” Manoj Kohli, CEO and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said. The government had given 3G radio frequencies to both MTNL and BSNL ahead of the auctions.