The Hindu Business Line : GSM operators pitch for faster 3G rollout

Hastening the process: The Minister for Communications and IT, Mr A. Raja; with the Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, watched by the CEO and Member of the Board GSMA, Mr Rob Conway, at a seminar on ‘3G Mobile Broadband for All’ in the Capital on Friday.

New Delhi, April 25 GSM operators on Friday made a strong pitch for the quick introduction of third generation services in the country even as the Communications Ministry said that spectrum issues related to 3G services would be resolved soon.

Speaking at seminar organised by the Cellular Operators Association of India, Mr Rob Conway, CEO and Board Member of the GSMA, commented: “It is essential that additional spectrum is released to mobile operators in India as soon as possible, so that users can enjoy the myriad of benefits derived from Mobile Broadband services, which are live today in more than 73 countries.”

Mr Sunil Mittal, CMD, Bharti Airtel Ltd, in his opening remarks said that “India represented the finest example of public-private partnership and how telecom has benefited society.”

He also said that “it was time now for the industry to crack the code of mobile broadband and that in India, mobile broadband was required in the rural areas.“

3G Mobile Broadband services are taking off exponentially in the rest of the world. As of April 2008, there are over 168 networks in 73 countries that have opted for mobile broadband (HSPA).

As of March 2008, there are more than 32 million mobile broadband (HSPA) connections worldwide, a ten-fold increase in the last one-year alone. This is forecast to grow to 700 million by 2012. The Communication and IT Minister, Mr A. Raja, said, “India cannot afford to be isolated from the 3G wave that is sweeping the rest of the world. Spectrum is the raw material for mobile services. It is a limited and scarce natural resource.

“As always there is more demand for this resource than the supply. Whilst we are making all efforts to get the spectrum vacated and coordinated for commercial use, it may be appreciated that these things take time and it is likely that this may become available in phases.

“I am hopeful that the Government will be in a position to shortly come out with and announce its detailed guidelines in respect of 3G as also mobile broadband access.”

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Events

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page