Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile), one of the oldest players in the telecom market, said it is looking at various options, including tying up with other operators, to provide 3G services to its subscribers. The company had not participated in the bids for 3G spectrum.

?We will tie up with private operators as and when they launch 3G services in the city. MTNL has recently circulated expression of interest for 3G spectrum. We are evaluating our options,? said Sandip Basu, CEO, Loop Mobile. It may also look at re-farming a part of its 10Mhz spectrum to offer 3G like offerings.

?We can even farm our 10 Mhz spectrum and reserve 2Mhz only for data while the rest 8Mhz for voice,? he added. Loop Mobile has 10Mhz spectrum in Mumbai of which 8Mhz is in the 900 Mhz band which is considered to provide a better network quality as compared to the 1800Mhz band where most players operate.

The company has recently invested about $100 million (Rs 450 crore) to upgrade to Next Generation IP network. Huawei and ZTE were the network partners for this. Loop now has over 2,000 towers. ?We started upgrading our network in February this year and just got done with it in September. It included total revamp of our networks and enhancing network capacity,? added Basu. He further said that Loop Mobile?s network is beyond any standards set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Basu feels that the over penetrated Mumbai circle is mostly a churn market. Last year, various new entrants like Reliance Communications (GSM), Tata Docomo and Uninor launched their services in the city. Despite that, Loop was able to increase its revenue market share from 8.5% last year to now 10%. As per Trai report in September 2010, Loop had a market share of 0.44%. ?We have always been a consumer centric company.?

It has a total subscriber base of three million, which includes some of the best high net worth individuals and top corporate accounts. Of this, nearly 10% is its postpaid base while the rest prepaid.

?VAS contributes over 20% to our revenues. All India average for others is 10-12%,? said Basu. Basu said that this year will be a game changer as two important developments ?Mobile Number portability and 3G? will change the face of telecom in India. ?We see MNP as a great opportunity and will be capitalising on it,? he added.