Tata DoCoMo has become the first Indian 3G auction winner to announce a date for the commencement of services, promising a launch on November 5.
The company plans to launch 3G services by Diwali, a religious event that this year falls on November 5.
Tata DoCoMo spokesperson Rajeev Narayan confirmed to TelecomsEurope.net that the operator would launch simultaneously in each of the nine circles the Tata group has won a license in.
These circles are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Tata DoCoMo is a joint venture between India's Tata group and Japan's NTT DoCoMo. It is Tata's service provider on the GSM platform.
The Tata group had contracted Huawei to implement 3G services in five circles, and NSN for the remaining four.
Rivals Bharti Airtel, Reliance and Vodafone Essar were all also expected to launch 3G services by the end of the year, but have so far yet to announce dates.