Foreign telecom companies unlikely to be allowed 3G licence

Mumbai: The department of telecom (DoT) is unlikely to call foreign players to bid for 3G services and the upcoming policy would be in the line with telecom regulator TRAI''s recommendations.

In a development that could act as a dampener on the plans of foreign companies waiting to offer Third Generation (3G) mobile services in India, the Department of Telecom is unlikely to invite overseas companies to bid for 3G licence.

Official sources said the telecom department is of the view that there are many complications in allowing foreign players in value-added services like 3G. While many of them have no network infrastructure and that would delay the roll-out of services by them, these companies with their deep pockets may also push up investment and service costs, the sources pointed out.

The most important issue for DoT is making the 3G services affordable for everyone and the entry of foreign players would push up costs, making it difficult for a non-metro or rural user to access the same, the sources said.

3G handset prices are already very high and if services become costlier, the very purpose of introducing them would fail, they added.

Joint ventures are also the answer as these often split up and the partners part ways following a rift between them, they added.

DoT plans to use 3G services for socially important projects like tele-medicine, health, education in remote areas, which is possible only if rural users can access the service, they said.