By IANS,
New Delhi : The state-owned telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) will conduct trials of third generation (3G) services by the end of this month in Delhi and launch commercially in December, the government announced Thursday.
MTNL’s 3G trials will be conducted in and around the capital’s Connaught Place area.
“Indoor trial of 3G in Delhi has already been completed,” an official statement said.
“The launch will give people a feel of high speed data, video streaming etc which come as part of the 3G services,” the statement further added.
The company claims to have procured the core equipment for the services and is presently mobilising the radio equipment.
While the government is yet to allocate 3G spectrum to private players through the auctioning mode, MTNL and BSNL have been allotted one block of 3G spectrum.
The only condition is that the two public sector undertakings (PSUs) have to match the price offered by the highest bidder.
The company will formally launch the 3G services in Delhi by the end of this year while in Mumbai, the services will be available early next year.
MTNL’s 3G services plans for Mumbai and Delhi include installing 3G GSM core capacity of 750,000 lines each in the two cities.