Tata DoCoMO is the first private mobile service provider to announce the date for launching the much anticipated third-generation (3G) mobile services.
The company aims to get a head-start and plans to introduce high-end services such as ultra-fast internet, videoconferencing and other 3G services by Diwali (November 5th 2010), its executive president, mobility business division, Deepak Gulati told ET.
“Japan’s NTTDoCoMo has provided technical inputs to make our 3G network world-class. Progressively, NTT will bring various 3G products and services that it offers in Japan — such as i-modeTM, location based services and mobile payment — and give our customers a flavor of tomorrow,” Mr Gulati added.
The nine circles where Tatas will launch 3G services include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Other leading operators such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar are also slated to introduce 3G services by the year-end. But, these companies are yet to announce the dates.
Mr Gulati declined to comment on 3G tariffs, but said that the pricing would be consumer friendly. The Tatas, who were a late entrant into the country’s mobile space, have maintained that 3G will reset the communications space as it would, for the first time, see all telcos launching operations at about the same time. “We want to be the first of the block and show the superiority of DoCoMo’s technology,” he added.
The country’s top two mobile firms — Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications (RCOM) — each had won 3G airwaves in 13 of the 22 telecom zones on offer while other major operators Aircel , Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Tata Tele won a total of 13, 9, 11 and 9 circles, respectively. The Tatas earlier said that Chinese major Huawei would implement the initiation of 3G services for the company in five circles, while Nokia Siemens Networks has bagged the contract for the remaining four circles. The combined deal size for the Tatas is just under $300 million.
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