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Tata DoCoMo, Airtel bringing 3G to India this year
It's been a long, brutal road, 2010 finally saw the long-overdue conclusion to India's nationwide 3G spectrum auction -- and in its wake, we're starting to see the winners make some firm commitments for getting services live. Two of the country's big operators, Tata DoCoMo and Bharti Airtel, are actually saying that they'll have their deployments up and running before the year's out; Airtel hasn't given a date, but Tata DoCoMo has pegged November 5th for its phase-one rollout in nine markets. Considering the size and complexity of India's spectrum license landscape, nationwide usability is definitely a concern -- but Airtel's saying that it's on the cusp of signing some roaming agreements that should keep things on the up and up. Oh, and Vodafone Essar? They're in the mix, too, though they'll be trailing a bit -- look for 3G from their towers in the first quarter of next year.
India's 3G auction draws to a close
It's been a long time coming, but after countless delays in getting the auction underway, bidding on nationwide 3G spectrum in the world's second most populous market has ended -- and four companies appear to have come out on top. Most of the Indian markets only had three licenses available, so you'll likely be doing some roaming if you travel much, but Reliance, Bharti, Aircel, and Tata have all come away with significant swaths of airspace. And how much did it end up costing for the privilege of delivering high-speed wireless 'round these parts? After kicking off India-wide bidding for one slot at 35 billion rupees (about $773 million), the auction wrapped up at 167.51 billion rupees ($3.7 billion) after some 183 rounds of bidding in just over a month. Now, the hard part: actually building those 3G networks. Chop chop, guys!
