The department of telecommunications (DoT) has said that foreign telecom firms can participate in the bidding process of third generation (3G) phone services without a local partner. The foreign telecom firms should follow the laws which permit a maximum of 74% ownership in the country's phone service firms by a foreign telecom firm. The firms must acquire a universal access service (UAS) license to start services in the Indian region.  

3G bidding process is expected to start in mid-January and the recent decision of the DoT would enable the foreign firms to participate in bidding. The spectrum would be allocated in the 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz bands for wireless broadband service and 2.1GHz bands for 3G services. The firms are allowed to bid for one block of spectrum and there would not be any waiting list. AT&T Inc., Deustche Telekom AG and Qatar Telecom QSC have shown interest to provide services in India. Your browser may not support display of this image.   

The director of telecom consulting firm, Com First (India) Pvt. Ltd, Mahesh Uppal said, "This has been done as many of the foreign players were apprehensive about the fact that there was not enough time between the auction and the application to get the Indian subsidiary or joint venture together."  

State run telecom giant, MTNL has recently launched 3G services in some areas of Delhi. 3G technology is an ultra modern telecom technology that allows fast data transmission in audio and video using internet. The government is expected to raise Rs40,000 crore from the auction of technology.