(The Times of India via NewsEdge) India's telecom regulator TRAI has finally set the ball rolling for the launch of 3G, after issuing a detailed consultation paper on 3G-related services.
The paper, which invites comments from stakeholders by the end of this month, also raises similar discussion points on broadband wireless access technology WiMAX that enables faster and wider roll out of data services in rural areas.
The paper said the two crucial issues, among others, that need to be dealt with by stakeholders include frequency allocation and pricing.
These issues have been so contentious, compelling regulators to start drafting another position paper on 3G, effectively trashing some of the major recommendations sent to the government last year.
This was necessitated by sharply differing views among telecom lobbies, coming from GSM operators Bharti, Hutch, and Idea, and CDMA carriers led by the Tata Group and Reliance.
While the GSM lobby has been seeking 2Ghz spectrum in line with majority of countries, CDMA operators have been demanding 1900-MHz band saying that equipment and handsets are not yet easily and cheaply available for their technology in any other band.
c 2006 The Times of India
c 2006 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved