The DoT (Department of Telecom) in India has apparently announced the radio spectrum that will be made available when 3G licenses are eventually auctioned off.
It could be the case that just 4 Operators are given radio spectrum around Delhi – given that two incumbents (BSNL and MTNL) already have some licenses in each zone, then that would be just the possibility of two new Operators coming to play. In other areas, there is apparently going to be more provision for private players – meaning up to 11 ‘Operators’ could enter business (I’d guess it probably won’t be that many, but who knows!). The greater availability of spectrum in these other zones is due to the Defence Ministry giving up some of its Spectrum.
There is still much to-ing and fro-ing to be done though over the 3G licenses themselves – currently there are disputes over how many Operators can exist per zone, and whether the relevant spectrum is sold in tranches, or in one go. Hopefully something will be resolved soon, as India is beginning to really lag behind in 3G technologies, particularly as many other countries are already at HSPA (3.5G) level, and going to HSPA+ (3.75G) soon.
[Story via: Cellular News / Image via: Wikipedia]