MTNL officially becomes the first operator in India to launch commercial 3G services in the Delhi region. However, having the first mover advantage, MTNL is trying to cash in by setting the price a bit higher that would deprive many to enjoy the 3G advantages. Remember, 3G network operates on a totally different band and provides faster data speeds as well as good voice quality.

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Reliance is positioning itself as a 3G ready service provider. Go to its site and you are welcomed by an ad, which boasts about its sim cards being 3G ready. This is not all, as it has self acclaimed its own plans to be the best one being offered currently.

Given below is a gist of the call and SMS charges:

• Local calls and SMS: Re.1
• STD Calls: Rs.1.5
• Incoming calls (roaming): Re.1
• National SMS: Rs.1.5

All this comes with a sim card that is 3G ready and will allow you to make the best of it, only if it launched. With regards to the top-up options on offer, you can opt for a Rs.10 recharge, which gives you talktime of Rs.6.9 to Rs. 100 recharge with talktime of Rs.87.

Isn’t that great!! On one side the Government is finding it difficult to arrive at a concensus and on the other, reports of 90 million subscribers by 2013 making the rounds. This data was a part of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) report. Also, projected sales of 3G enabled handsets stand at 8.13 million units, which would bring in $11.2 billion as revenue.

As for the timelines for the auction process, things do not look too good. The process is already running late by a month and there are some more expected. However, reterating our views, this is a good time for operators to make sure they have saved enough to help them emerge as winners in the bidding process.

MTNL announced the commercial launch of the 3G services in Delhi. This would happen in a period of 10 days – around the end of the month. However, Mumbai users would have to wait for a couple of weeks till they get the same. It’s Mumbai launch is currently planned in the first week of February.

With the 3G spectrum allocation being talked about in every business newspaper and the dates being changed every fortnight, we give you this update on what’s going on.

Dates: We brought you the official dates for the auction some weeks back. Till then the 16th of January was the day when the process was planned to begin. However, with the Cabinet and the Telecom authorities not coming to common terms, this date was shifted to the 30th of Jan. Things got worse, when the dates were further delayed, as the Cabinet was to view the suggestions put forth by the Dot not before mid-Jan. Also, the auction would not take place till all the ministries, the Cabinet and the telecom authorities come to a consensus. At present, the process is set to begin in mid-February. This too, seems to be a very optimistic date.

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In an attempt to make the best of the situation, theDoT might just allow more operators to bid for spectrum in the 3G auction. The body has decided that it would accomodate more operators in circles, in which additional capacities exist. These additional spots would help the government to get more money and, on the same hand, make the game more competitive.

Going into specifics, it was expected that the number of operatorswhich could be accomodated would be 2-4. However, it was found some more operators could fit into circles like Kolkata, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The new numbers making the rounds are 6-8, which means twice the competition.

Yea, you read it right. MTNL looks unperturbed with all the ongoing controversies surrounding the 3G auction. Our source close to MTNL Mumbai says that they will be launching the 3G services from January 26. The service will be a soft launch, just like Delhi, and will be limited to selected customers.

The area to be covered during the first phase of the launch will be from the Airport to Prabhadevi and will be expanded to the most parts of the city by February end. Stay tuned for the pricing and other details.

The stage is all set for Indian Telcos to fight it out in one of the fiercest battles for 3G spectrum. The day – 16th of January. Yes, the Indian Govt. has officially declared the details of the much awaited 3G auction. Here’s how the timeline looks like:

• 23rd Dec: Pre-Bid Conference
• 5th Jan: All applications to be submitted by this day
• 9th Jan: Declaration of the eligible Telcos
• 12-13th Jan – Mock Auction
• 16th Jan – The Day

From a capacity standpoint, reports of inadequate room for all players holds true, with space for only about 2-4 players available in each circle. Given below is the availability in some circles:

• Delhi: 2 players
• Mumbai: 4 players or more
• Himachal: 3 players
• Gujarat: 3 players
• UP: 2 players
• West Bengal: 1 player

Clearing the air of speculations, the ministry also clarified the criteria for foreign players to bid for spectrum. Companies can bid as 100% entities, but will have to partner with an Indian company to the extent of 26% – Indian cos. share, before it launches its services.

In these turbulent times, where biggies like Vodafone are crying foul over delaying the bidding process, given the liquidity crunch, funding assistance is a much welcomed move. This comes at a stage where operators are in urgent need of funds to get themselves an edge over competitors in their bid for 3G spectrum. The Finance ministry has permitted IIFCL – India Infrastructure Finance Company to lend funds to the telcos who are all set to enter the 3G auction, due soon.

This move will help fund the process of bidding for the much awaited 3G spectrum. However, it is much appreciated, given the timing of the move, where companies didn’t have much access to funds to such a large extent. The funding is to the tune of Rs.10,000 crore, which the Company would raise through tax-free bonds from the public and local financial institutions.

MTNL is all set to launch the much awaited 3G service on the 11th of December i.e. tomorrow. Mr. Manmohan Singh would do the honors, with the service being launched first in the capital which will then be followed by Mumbai. The service comes a month prior to the auction, in which private players would face off for the spectrum allocation.

Users will be able to experience speeds of upto 2Mbps, much higher than those currently being offered – upto 140kbps. Next service operator expected to follow suit will be BSNL.

As for the prices, it is being expected that there will be no charges for the first couple of months except the data transfers. Data transfer is expected to be charged at 2 paise per KB. However, the pricing report is unconfirmed so it would be better if we leave this thing for tomorrow.

Another important point to note here is that the launch will be a pilot test for private players, who would be planning to bid for the same. A good base for the private players to know how the market will react to the service at a particular price point.