India’s 3G roll out spells $3 billion bonanza for equipment vendors

Global telecom equipment vendors stand to net around $3 billion worth of equipment deals in the first wave of 3G rollouts in India, in what would be the largest global telecom contract in calendar 2010.

This is likely to bring great relief to leading international gearmakers at a time when business is slack globally and the Indian market alone holds out potential to prop up revenues and profits.

The six winners of 3G airwaves in India - Vodafone Essar, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications , Idea Cellular, Aircel and Tata Teleservices between them are set to place orders for equipment worth $3 billion over the next 30 days according to industry experts.

With roll out, the companies will be able to unveil 3G services that involve high-end facilities including video calling, interactive gaming and high-speed internet using phones by late December.

According to reports, Vodafone Essar is about to award its 3G equipment order to existing vendors - Ericsson and Nokia Siemens. The deal size is reportedly worth around $500 million. The move is seen to be aligned to Vodafone Group's international vendor alignment in Europe.

According to a report in The Economic Times newspaper, Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom company by customers and revenues will award its 3G expansion contract in two weeks wherein its existing vendors Ericsson and Nokia Siemens are in the forefront to bag the deal.