Only three operators can offer 3G services in Delhi

August 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - An 'Empowered Group of Ministers' (EGoM), constituted by the Government to supervise the spectrum for 3G telephony, on Thursday fixed the reserve price for pan-India 3G spectrum at Rs 3,500 crore. It also decided to allow only five operators to offer the high-speed mobile services in the first phase, where one existing operator - BSNL or MTNL - in their respective circles will be given the spectrum along with four new operators.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government expects to raise as much as Rs.35,000 crore ($7.2 billion) from auction of third generation (3G) spectrum, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday while presenting the budget for 2009-10 in the Lok Sabha. The estimated figure, included in the receipts from the "other communications services" category in the budget, is higher than what Communications and IT Minister A.

February 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) Thursday launched its third generation (3G) mobile services, Jadoo, in limited areas of Delhi on an initial investment of about Rs.4 billion (Rs.400 crore). 'We have spent Rs.300-400 crore (Rs 3-4 billion) on the 3G services roll-out so far,' MTNL chairman and managing director R.S.P.

June 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is set to launch third generation (3G) mobile services in Gangtok by Aug 15, the government has said. Announcing this in Gangtok Monday, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot said the 3G services would be extended to three more districts in the state within 100 days of its launch, a government statement said here.

January 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Though the third generation (3G) mobile spectrum auctions may happen anytime soon, the final rollout of services will likely be delayed in the long run. The reason: private telecom operators have not yet placed any orders for new equipment with the vendors.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Telcordia, a global communication software service provider, Monday said it has bagged a five-year multi-million dollar contract from Unitech Wireless to manage its database of pre-paid customers. "We have been awarded a five-year multi-million dollar contract by Unitech for implementing our 'real-time charging solution'," Anuj Kapur, country head Telcordia, told IANS Monday.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has constituted an 'Empowered Group of Ministers' (EGoM) to supervise the spectrum for 3G telephony that will revolutionise the technology through which data is received and transferred from mobile phones. According to reports, there would be nine ministers in the EGoM, which would be lead by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

January 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) Friday said it will launch its third generation (3G) mobile services in Mumbai next month. 'We will launch 3G services in Mumbai in the first week of February,' MTNL chairman and managing director R.S.P.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The communications ministry may expect the auction of scarce 3G spectrum to fetch Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 crore ($6-8 billion), but the interim budget for 2009-10 has projected no more than Rs.20,000 crore ($4 billion) on that count. 'The budget estimates for 2009-10 include a sum of Rs.20,000 crore as the expected revenue from auction of 3G spectrum,' says the receipts budget tabled Monday by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

December 22nd, 2008 NEW DELHI - Successful bidders for spectrum allocation for third generation (3G) telecom services will also be eligible to get spectrum space for second generation (2G) services, as and when any space becomes available, the Telecom Commission said here Tuesday. 'New 2G spectrum will be allocated as and when it is available.

July 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The growth of India's mobile telephone industry can suffer if the government continues to link the allocation of radio spectrum for service providers to the auction of this scarce resource for third generation (3G) services, experts warn. They also maintain that the policy to allocate additional airwaves based on the number of subscribers with each service provider is outdated and that a pragmatic policy must be unveiled to ensure the robust growth of the Indian telecom industry.

December 28th, 2008 NEW DELHI - The auction of third generation (3G) radio frequencies slated for Jan 16 have been delayed, and may now be held Jan 30. 'The auctions have been delayed as the cabinet is yet to approve some of the key proposals regarding the auctions,' a Department of Telecom (DoT) official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's leading telecom player Bharti Airtel Monday launched a service that allows subscribers to watch television programmes using the company's Internet broadband facility in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Widely known as Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), the service was launched about a month after the state-run telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam, announced the launch of its own IPTV service, also in Delhi and the NCR.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, A Raja has said that the prospects of the further lowering of telephone tariff in India are imminent in the future. He said this while assuming his charge of the ministry here on Monday.

May 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Over 2.5 crore owners of cheap handsets, that stood to be banned in India as these did not have the regulatory unique 15-digit identity code, can breathe a sigh of relief -- help is on the way. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the organisation representing GSM service operators, Monday said it has developed a software that can embed the code - known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) - in these handsets.