It?s not just the telecom operators and their customers who arewaiting for the advent of 3G in India. With the huge business opportunity in setting up and maintaining advanced telecom networks, global wireless equipment and service providers too are keeping a close watch. Among the service providers hoping for the 3G edge are Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, ZTE and Huawei.

Apart from rolling out 3G networks, these players have identified managing networks and ensuring their optimum utilisation for maximum output to telecom operators as a new source of revenue and are working on the idea.

Chinese equipment manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE are also examining opportunities in the terminal business like 3G handsets and dongles (data cards). ?We see a huge opportunity when 3G comes in. Being a late entrant in the 2G market, this gives us a chance to take on the established incumbents. As a late-starter disadvantage, we missed on big telecom players. However, for 3G, we will be giving tough competition to our peers,? said Huawei India executive director (services) Sarvdeep Garg.

The Indian equipment market is estimated to be worth over $25 billion, led by Ericsson with a marketshare of more than 50%. Huawei is second, followed by Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens Network.

For Ericsson, it?s the mobile broadband opportunity in India which looks attractive. ?With wireline base in India now approximately at 35 million, 3G brings in a huge opportunity for the growth of mobile broadband. With better network and better consumer experience, mobile phones will become the primary mode for accessing the internet,? said Ericsson India VP (marketing & strategy) P Balaji.

After winning licence and spectrum for 3G services, telcos will need to set up networks similar to the one for 2G services. ?At the minimum, it will include radio access network (RAN) and core network. Also, most of the core network available for 2G services are easily upgradeable for handling 3G services,? said Alcatel-Lucent India head (wireless solutions & marketing) Sunil Kumar.

Equipment vendors, after queries from their clients, are installing 3G equipment which is ready for future technology (4G or LTE). Telecom operators and equipment providers have been preparing for 3G for the past one and a half years. After the award of 3G licences, it will take six months to one year to be fully 3G-capable. ?We are very excited about a 3G extension of our business. When we supply 3G equipment, they are already 4G-ready with just a few software upgrades,? said Kanika Atri, head (marketing & communications), Nokia Siemens Networks India.

?3G services will require huge investments in wireless products, infrastructure, IP backhaul, terminal and VAS, which is good business for us. 3G will definitely be the driving growth factor in 2010,? said Cui LiangJun, CTO, ZTE India.