BSNL and MTNL, which have been assured a license for 3G by the Government, plan to start 3G services in their respective areas in six months, and are placing orders for equipment.
India will hold a global auction for 3G mobile services. Indications are that foreign operators will be allowed to bid. The number of licences given in each telecom circle will vary from 5 to 10. Details like spectrum availability and number of players in each circle will be finalized in four months.
Spectrum would be sold in blocks of 5MHz for a 20-year period. The two-PSUs - Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited in Mumbai and Delhi, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited elsewhere - would be allowed to buy a block of 3G spectrum in their respective areas at prices matching that of the highest private bidder. Private operators will be allocated the remaining available spectrum.
New operators will be allowed to bid. If they win, they will have to pay the Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) fee aprt from the 3G spectrum fee.
According to experts, in the crowded Mumbai and Delhi areas, there may be spectrum enough for just two private GSM operators besides MTNL.
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