After the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recent recommendations on the introduction of faster mobile services, called the 3G (or third generation) or 'broadband of mobiles' in India, most handset manufacturers are gearing up not only themselves, but also their prospective customers for the new world.
Besides qualitative improvement in current services, 3G will enable faster Internet, mobile television, video-conferencing with DVD quality and many other services.
"Currently a mobile phone is a communication device, and it will become an experience device, with fusion of various media, where convergence is going to be the mantra," says Vineet Taneja, multimedia business director, Nokia. The company expects to sell around 250 million convergence devices worldwide by 2008.
Companies aggressively demonstrated the 3G prowess of their devices at a just concluded Mobile Consumer Exhibition here. If Nokia launched its N-95 that promises super-fast data transfers, Samsung showcased its Z-620 and P910 models, with a technology imported from South Korea to demonstrate the 3G capabilities of the handsets which include video-telephony with crystal clear quality, music downloads, movie clips and mobile TV at high speed.
"The quality of services will be world class. And we think that the Indian customer is ready for 3G, as it will offer them various media in one platform, just at the click of a button," says Dipesh Shah, vice-president, Samsung.
There are around twenty 3G-enabled devices already in the market, but some manufacturers are waiting for the service providers to roll out 3G.
"We have a wide range of 3G enabled devices in our portfolio including a upgraded version of the V3i in Europe and elsewhere. Once we get an indication from the service providers, we might think of introducing some of them," says Llyod Mathias, director-marketing, Motorola. Motorola is planning to roll out its 3G handsets in the first and second quarters of next year.
"I am not concerned with what others have launched. We don't know how well the 3G will work out in the Indian market, but once we know the full range, we will be ready with 3G devices within no time," says H S Bhatia, group head, LG.
Besides the quality of services, two major factors that will determine the success of 3G in India, observers say, are the price of handsets and the charges the service providers will exact.
Although handset manufacturers are reluctant to reveal the prices, it is estimated that they will be higher than the current GPRS devices.
"Worldwide, 3G devices cost 30-40 per cent more than the GPRs devices, and I think that will be the case here too," says Mathias.
"Currently we have devices that can handle some 3G services like high speed Internet, which are reasonably priced, probably they will cater to the initial offerings from the service providers which we expect mostly to be data-related," says Sudhin Mathur, General Manager, Sony Ericsson, India.
The high-end convergence devices are sure to cost upwards Rs 25,000.
"If the charges are too high, which I don't think will be the case in India, there might be some difficulty in penetrating the market, especially in B and C class cities," says Mathur.
"It all depends on the licence fee for the spectrum and so many other things, but we think due to competition, the prices will be low and the customers will benefit," says Mathias.
The 3G services are expected to roll out around the first quarter of next year, and handset manufacturers can't wait for the summer of 2007.