"If there is common auction or open auction, there will be no bar. There is up to 74 per cent FDI allowed in Indian telecoms firm, and these partnerships can also start 3G service. Either way foreign players will be allowed," Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja said.
Raja, who will discuss the issue of foreign players entry in the 3G services with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon, said the modalities of working out the spectrum auction for 3G services has been referred to the Law Ministry.
He also said operators could roll out services by January 2009 or end of this year. Raja said all existing operators are ready for 3G rollout and it does not need new infrastructure.
The department of telecom has already issued draft 3G guidelines. The 3G roll out has been stuck on two counts release of spectrum by defence forces and differences between TRAI and DoT over the entry of foreign players.
DoT wants foreign players to come in, while sector regulator TRAI has recommended existing domestic players to offer 3G services that allow faster data download among other video applications.
The DoT and the finance ministry are in favour of allowing foreign players to bid for 3G spectrum to enhance competition and get a higher value for the scarce resource. TRAI says including foreign players would not only complicate the process but also increase the delay in the 3G rollout.
The regulator has also highlighted that around 12 players in each circle should be enough to realise a fair value and competition.
However, DoT wants to include more players in the bidding process in order to give a chance to foreign players who earlier could not enter the Indian market.
3G wireless network allows operators to transmit data, voice and video at a high speed, besides enabling Internet services on mobile devices. India is eyeing 3G network as a solution for lack of voice-centric 2G network capacity and slow growth of broadband.
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