Global telecom players like Deutsche Telecom or NTT DoCoMo can now enter the Indian market through the 3G route. The department of telecommunications (DoT) has decided that since 3G licences would be fresh authorisations and not extensions of existing 2G licences, any player?whether global or local?could bid for them.
This means any company that missed out on a 2G licence still has a chance of getting into the sector via the 3G route. While 3G services provide for larger bandwidth supporting greater data and download capacity, they also provide 2G voice services.
DoT secretary DS Mathur said on Tuesday that his department had finalised the 3G and broadband wireless access policy, which now needs the approval of communications & IT minister A Raja.
Mathur said DoT was looking at two options to allocate 3G spectrum: auction, as recommended by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), as well as allotment, as done for 2G operators. He said if the allotment method was adopted, a set of criteria had been prepared to shortlist operators. Mathur did not disclose the criteria.
Only four operators can be accommodated for 3G services initially, of which one slot would be reserved for public sector BSNL or MTNL.
For the auction of 3G spectrum, Trai recommended a reserve price of Rs 80 crore for Mumbai, Delhi and category A circles, Rs 40 crore for Chennai, Kolkata and category B circles, and Rs 15 crore for category C circles.