3G from Foreign Cos.

Nitin1987

New member
This is an article that got my attention and would like your views about the possible outcomes and what the future holds for the telecom indus.

"A committee of Department of Telecom is said to have given its clearance on entry of foreign players in offering 3G mobile services and allocation of spectrum through auction.

The group, which is looking into recommendations of telecom regulator TRAI on 3G spectrum, will submit its report to the Telecom Commission later this month for making policy and guidelines on 3G spectrum.

It has so far finalised two things -- that 3G is not an extension of 2G, implying that there is price to be paid through auction for spectrum to start 3G services, and entry of foreign players, official sources said.

Other issues including allocation of spectrum to public sector undertakings and pricing criteria are also being worked out, they said. 3G services allow operators to offer advanced data service like video streaming, high speed internet, real-time transactions and voice services.

At a time when voice revenues are falling, high-end value added services through 3G hold big potential for telcos to arrest the top line fall. The sources said the final policy is not likely to come out before July as lots of nitty-gritties have to be worked out along the broad framework of 3G, including allocation, auction methodology, benchmark price, number of players, PSUs (BSNL and MTNL) entitlements as per their existing rights.

The group, currently is in the draft proposal stage, will have to discuss its report with the full Telecom Commission before making it final. The sources said being PSUs, BSNL and MTNL will be given preference as unless supported they would not be able to compete and offer 3G services on their own.

The PSUs will have pay some price for the spectrum to remain in the allocation benchmark, they said. The sources said DoT is quite unhappy with Tata Teleservices for opposing entry of foreign players in offering 3G services. Entry of foreign players will bring in competition and quality which would bring down the cost and make 3G services popular.

Any opposition to that is not in the best of spirits of the industry, they said. Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran has been strongly favouring the entry of foreign players in offering 3G services. However, Tata Teleservices feels this would lead to scarcity of spectrum and hamper the growth of existing operators and has demanded a level-playing field vis-a-vis foreign players."

Referred from: Economic Times

Please lemme know ur views regarding this matter.

- Nitin
 
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