India to offer better 3G conditions for overseas operators

The Indian government is has reportedly planned a series of measures that will allow new, foreign operators to compete on an equal footing with Indian operators in 3G and Wimax.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has crafted the measures to encourage foreign operators to participate in the upcoming 3G and Wimax auctions, the Economic Times has reported.

Under the DoT bid document, new entrants will be permitted to use the networks of existing operators to fill patches in their coverage until they build a pan-Indian network.  

Foreign operators will be able to bid without obtaining a telecom license, and intra- and inter-circle roaming will be made mandatory.

Meanwhile, the CDMA Development Group is currently in talks with the Indian government over the latter's decision to initially only allocate spectrum on the 800MHz band in the upcoming 3G auction, according to the Economic Times.

The group is reportedly hoping to convince the government to release spectrum on the 450MHz band as well, and has been told this is likely to occur in the next few months.