Indian mobile network operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL) will become the first private operator to launch commercial 3G services, according to India’s Economic Times. With its third generation services to be offered under the Tata DoCoMo banner, the operator has announced that it will open 3G services to customers from 5 November. Commenting on the development, TTSL’s managing director Anil Sardana said: ‘We have been able to complete the ramp-up of our network to support 3G services due to the superb 3G-ready network we created at the time of our 2G launch itself, last year.’ The rollout of the cellco’s 3G infrastructure is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
As previously reported by CommsUpdate, in May 2010 TTSL paid INR58.64 billion (USD1.3 billion) for 3G licences for nine circles: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (W), Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
TTSL’s major rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have both announced provisional timeframes for their respective 3G launches, with Bharti aiming to inaugurate services before the end of the year, and Vodafone aiming for a January-March 2011 launch. Reliance Communications (RCOM) meanwhile has yet to pinpoint when it will launch, although it is widely expected it could join Bharti and TTSL by introducing third generation offers before end-2010.