The Hindu : New Delhi News : Is there enough 3G space for more players, wonders Raja

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Sunday, May 18, 2008
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Is there enough 3G space for more players, wonders Raja

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before taking any decision on the much-delayed rollout of 3G (Third Generation) mobile services.

“I want to discuss the issue with the Prime Minister and also with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. I want to seek their opinion on whether allowing more players, including foreign players, in the 3G space would fetch more revenues as DoT has been suggesting; or whether we should go ahead with TRAI’s recommendations that do not favour the entry of more players in the service,” he told newspersons here on Friday.

Foreign players would be allowed to enter the 3G space but in partnership with Indian companies. The question was whether there was enough space to accommodate more players, including foreigners, he said. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has ruled against allowing foreign players at this juncture stating it could make the service unaffordable and also have a serious impact on the Indian telecom sector. It says that with 12-13 players in each circle there will be enough competition for fetching a fair value of spectrum for 3G services, while the DoT favours entry of foreign players in bidding for the 3G spectrum at a global auction.

Blackberry issue

On the BlackBerry issue, Mr. Raja said the Canadian company Research-in-Motion (RIM), which has developed the smartphone, assured the Centre that it would resolve the issue within a month. RIM would come out with a solution that would enable monitoring of e-mail and other encrypted data running through its network, to which the Indian security and intelligence agencies have raised objections due to an increased threat perception.

“The government would ensure that lakhs of BlackBerry users are not affected,” Mr. Raja said.

Now over four lakh subscribers are using BlackBerry smartphones offered by all leading operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications and BPL.

The controversy began earlier this year when the DoT, after objections from the Home Ministry, refused to allow Tata Teleservices to launch its BlackBerry services until all security mechanisms related to the product were in place, and warned the existing operators against using it.

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