India will begin 3G spectrum auctions on April 9, with a “4G” auction for LTE and WiMAX services beginning on April 11, reports the Indian Department of Communications.
India is the biggest economy in the world that doesn’t yet have nationwide 3G phone service. India’s wireless market, with about 525 million mobile subs (Dec 2009), is the world’s biggest after China, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The government’s 3G auction will offer three slots in 17 telecom service areas and four in the remaining five areas on April 9th.
The Department of Telecom on Friday said nine telecos have submitted their bids for the auction of 3G spectrum (auction guidelines). The bids will start at 35 billion rupees ($770 million) for a slot covering all the service areas, but analysts expect each winner to spend between $1 billion and $1.5 billion due to the huge demand for scarce spectrum and cut-throat competition.
India’s top three mobile operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, and Vodafone Essar, separately said on Thursday they had submitted applications to bid for the 3G airwaves for all of India’s 22 telecoms zones.
Firms expected to bid for 3G spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band include; Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Tata Teleservices, State-owned BSNL, and Etisalat DB India, a unit of UAE-based Emirates Telecommunication will vye for 3G spectrum.
India plans to auction two 20 MHz unpaired blocks at 2.3 GHz in each of the country’s 22 service areas for 4G (LTE or WiMAX) on April 9th. The base price for a pan-India spectrum slot is set at $386 million.
Qualcomm said on Wednesday that it is has filed an application to bid in India’s broadband wireless auction in the 2.3 GHz band. Qualcomm plans to use the TD-LTE standard in the world’s second most populous country. Qualcomm’s technology will support both TD-LTE and 3G/2G. A winning bid would turn Qualcomm into a joint venture partner. Qualcomm would find an Indian partner if it succeeds in the auction, as per telecommunications rules in India.
The WiMAX Forum says there is limited traction or market support for TD-LTE, although Qualcomm says China Mobile has adopted the standard, and plans to use in the same 2.3 GHz band.
Qualcomm is working with Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks, to perform interoperability tests for dual-carrier HSPA+ and LTE. Among the many device manufacturers currently evaluating the new chipsets are Huawei, LG Electronics, Novatel Wireless, Sierra Wireless and ZTE.
Motorola hopes to use WiMAX in India, and is in talks with top cellular service providers for deployment. Motorola claims that it can offer 30 – 40 per cent cheaper solutions. Motorola has deployed over 38 WiMAX networks worldwide.
Motorola today announced the addition of a TD-LTE-Advanced capable 4Tx/8Rx radio head with MIMO to its 4G – WBR 700 Series LTE portfolio. While similar in size to a standard 2Tx/2Rx LTE, it enables advanced MIMO schemes including multi user (MU) MIMO and beam-forming. The WBR 700 TD-LTE 4Tx/8Rx with MIMO solution will be displayed in Motorola’s booth at International CTIA Wireless 2010.
Motorola’s LTE-Advanced capable WBR 700 Series is Motorola’s fourth generation OFDM solution and its second generation LTE platform. The eNodeB portfolio supports TD-LTE as well as FDD-LTE solutions.
Motorola has been selected by China Mobile as the primary TD-LTE solution partner to provide indoor coverage for all major pavilions at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, and will also integrate and launch the world’s first TD-LTE USB dongle that supports both 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz. Beceem, Sequans and Qualcomm have all announced TDD-LTE chips for clients.
Related Dailywireless articles include; India’s 3g/4G Auction: On the Move , India Sets 3G Auction Price Higher, WiMax: East Meets West, China Mobile: Slow TD-SCDMA Sales.
