The Hindu Business Line : `Keen on comeback, weighing options'

Mr Rajeev Chandrashekhar may make a comeback into the Indian telecom sector as a possible contender for the third generation (3G) mobile services berth.

Mr Chandrashekhar had earlier exited from the telecom sector after selling out his stake in BPL Mobile to the Essar Group for Rs 4,400 crore, making it one of the largest deals in the telecom space.

When contacted Mr Chandrashekhar told Business Line, "I am very much interested in the telecom sector and am looking at all possible opportunities that comes across including 3G. However there are no concrete plans, which is in place as of now.

Things are yet to become clearer." One of things that Mr Chandrashekhar could be waiting for is the Government's policy on allocating 3G spectrum.

As per the telecom regulator's recommendations, the bidding for 3G spectrum licence should be limited to telecom licence holders.

There is, however, a section of the industry which is pushing for opening up the bidding for newcomers since the telecom regulator has also said that 3G services was a new service, and not a continuation of the existing cellular service.

The Government is expected to make a decision by the year-end.

The other area of interest for Mr Chandrashekhar could be wireless broadband, which is touted to be the next big thing with technologies such as Wi-Max.

Mr Chandrasekhar had recently taken over Asianet Communications, Kerala's largest television network, through Jupiter Capital Venture Ltd.

The company is also licensed to run the FM station Radio Indigo in Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi and Goa.

Industry sources said that with the convergence of broadcasting and telecom taking place fast, it would make sense for Mr Chandrashekhar to have a complete portfolio of services.

He was among the first few to jump onto the cellular bandwagon when it was opened up along with the likes of Mr Sunil Mittal, the Ruias and Dr B.K. Modi.

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