The Hindu : Front Page : 3G service to be launched in September

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Saturday, Jun 26, 2010
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3G service to be launched in September

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: From September, mobile phone users can hope to get the 3G service from the operators who recently won bids in the spectrum auction, while the high-speed Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) service roll-out could be much faster.

“As the Ministry of Defence has given us an assurance on vacating spectrum at the earliest, we will allot spectrum to the successful bidders on September 1 to offer hi-end mobile services, while we are ready to release spectrum for the BWA service,” Telecom Secretary P.J. Thomas told journalists here.

The spectrum auction conducted by the Department of Telecommunications, along with the auctioneer consortium of N.M. Rothschild India (Private) Limited and DotEcon of the United Kingdom, was fool-proof, he said.

“While the overall proceeds from the auction for the 3G and BWA spectrum at over Rs.1.06-lakh crore exceeded all expectations, an equally important aspect is that the true market value of the spectrum was determined through an efficient and transparent process,” he said.

The auction format and severe spectrum shortage, along with ensuing policy uncertainty, drove the prices beyond reasonable levels. As a result, the objective of pan-Indian 3G footprint in this round could not be achieved. Similarly, in the case of the BWA auction, scarcity of slots resulted in extremely high price levels, he noted.

Mr. Thomas, however, maintained that the high prices of spectrum would not lead to costlier 3G or broadband services.

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