BSNL to roll out 3G in north-east and Chennai by January 2009

State-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will roll out 3G services in the north-eastern states and Chennai by January 2009, India’s Economic Times is reporting, citing comments by Communications and IT Minister Andimuthu Raja. Mr Raja also reiterated that fellow state-run telco Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) would launch commercial 3G services in Delhi and Mumbai by December. It has also been confirmed that both operators have already been allocated spectrum, with one block released to MTNL in the Delhi and Mumbai circles, while another block has been set aside for BSNL for the rest of the country; the operators have both been given 2×5MHz in the 2.1GHz band. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, both BSNL and MTNL have launched trials of 3G services, in Pune and Delhi respectively.