Team-BHP - Atlast! 3G in India

Yesterday, Bharti Airtel announced having successfully tested 3G applications with different equipment suppliers. The company said it is set to start services as and when 3G spectrum is allocated.

A leading newspaper quoted Bharti Airtel President (Mobility) Sanjay Kapoor saying that they'd tested 3G applications in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore -- on a trial indoor spectrum allocated to them.

With the Department of Telecom (DoT) having already said it will allot 3G spectrum via auction, players including Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance are said to be gearing up for 3G services that promise faster downloads and enhanced data transmission among others.

As regards Airtel's preparedness for rolling out 3G services in India, Kapoor alluded to Airtel having 3G services in Seychelles and that the experience derived from a partner like SingTel would only help them smoothly launch the service in India. Kapoor also did not reveal the names of the equipment suppliers but said they'd deployed more than one network company. Meanwhile, reports suggest Swedish network company Ericsson and Finnish Nokia are vying for market share in the 3G space apart from Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE.

Techtree.com India > News > Telecom > Bharti Airtel Set to Start 3G Services

Quote:

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi (Post 783272)

Yesterday, Bharti Airtel announced having successfully tested 3G applications with different equipment suppliers. The company said it is set to start services as and when 3G spectrum is allocated.

That's where the problem lies :( [Referring to portion highlighted in bold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi (Post 783272)

Meanwhile, reports suggest Swedish network company Ericsson and Finnish Nokia are vying for market share in the 3G space apart from Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE.

If and when this service is launched, will we get its advantages on normal 3g handsets like the N73??

Live TV on mobiles in India now

Live TV, high-speed data download and video streaming on mobile phone on Thursday became a reality in India, with state-owned MTNL launching the next generation 3G technology-based telecom services in New Delhi.

Hope others follow it soon.

EDGE also know as some version number of G, mostly 2.75 or 2.5G is designed to have data transfer speed of 384 Kbps. Most ISP plans in India give broadband plans that have less speed than this.

3G carries capacity of 2MBPs data transfer. I wonder if we are really making use of the technology as IMO, we dont have sufficient infrastructure.

Any idea what technology are they using, UMTS or HSDPA?

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami (Post 1089565)

Yes EDGE is 2.75G. It offers a maximum speed of 384Kbps but that depends on a lot of things like distance from the BTS, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88 (Post 1089593)

Is it coming with vodafone / airtel soon?

It would take at least 6 - 9 months. The bidding for the 3G spectrum is yet to take place.

MTNL/BSNL have been allotted spectrum to have first mover's advantage. However commercial operations are expected only by Jan end or Feb.
Spectrum auction for private players will be in Jan end. Commercial operations are expected only by summer 2009.
there wont be not more than 4 players in any circle with some strategic circles (WB, Raj, NE - due to defense) having only single operator (obviously BSNL).
Also MTNL is trailing out 3G in delhi without any charges and trail is limited to areas such as CP, PTI and nearby areas . I eagarly waited for MTNL 3g but no use.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sahil (Post 1090272)

I hope they don't make the 3g data plan charges unrealistic.

It all depends on the demand. If demand is less then charges will be more. More demand and we can hope to see reasonable charges. But honestly I don't see too much demand from the average Joe. Only a few tech savvy people will opt in for it.