3G BENEFICIAL TO WHOM

The concept of 3G/BWA started in may 2004 when D.Maran was the telecom minister. He planned to boost up our economy by introducing the 3G.But it kept on postponing and in may 2007 Raja took over as the minister and its not yet auctioned till now.

So let us know more about this 3G.It is a service provided for internet users over mobile. It can provide upto a speed of 2-7 mbps. But is this possible. The basic GPRS service provided in India has a speed of 100kbps which should be actually at the speed of 146kbps. If so is the speed expected for 3G possible. And next is the cost of infrastructure. BSNL has started its services in southern part of Delhi in the name of GADDU. It found that it needs a minimum of 12 base stations within a radius of 3-4 kms. But the basic 2g services just require 3-4 base stations for the same area mentioned above. So it may cost more than 1 billion $ for just the infrastructure for the companies. Intially the government opened an auction for 1600 crores for one service provider and later increased to 2020 crores and now it has reached to 4040 crores for just one service provider. Now it has made it mandatory that every service provider for 3G must also buy the 2G technology. Are the companies able to got the ROI for what they are spending today. There is a spectrum available for just 4 service providers and MTNL has a clear advantage over the other 3 as it is already providing its services. It is said that a major company is pushing the government to extend the auctions as it has to complete its CDMA/GSM services.

Next the mobile companies. We need a mobile with a screen of 3-4 inches for proper better usage of internet.But most of the mobiles used in India are 1.5-2.5 inches screens.So what about this? Next is the software used in mobiles. Basically we have front end and back end softwares used in mobiles. The back end used in mobiles in India are programmed in 1980s and 90s and are very old just can support voice calls. Then what about the BWA services. Also it is clear that the video streaming services are not provided. Then why is that the mobile companies are pushing the customers to buy costly cells.

The basic customer in India has a perception over mobile as just a means of communication. So is the common man willing to buy the costly mobiles to enjoy the services. Are the service providers able to provide the services at the expected speed. As we have seen in GPRS that the expected speed is not provided. The basic amount required to just avail the services is 2000 rupees and the amount will increase based on the usage.

So is it that the companies are going to dig there ditch to buy the services before knowing whether the customer is willing to enjoy the services. Is there any proper research done before? Is it beneficial to the customer or the companies providing the services? …......