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Finally after all the apprehensions and speculations 3G has got the green signal in India. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the much-awaited third generation phone services in India offered by state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). Presently it is only been offered to customers in Delhi.

To start off MTNL will be offering the high-speed data service for free to high-spending customers so that they could a feel of the much-hyped technology. With the advent of 3G customers will enjoy Internet and data transfer at speeds of 2 megabites per second.  MTNL plans on charging customers once the network is completely rolled-out. With brands like Trump, Dolphin and Garuda MT NL has been a major player in the telecom industry. In fact the move surely has boosted the shares of MTNL by 3.08% to Rs75.20 / share (BSE).

Though MTNL has rolled-out the 3G services earlier they still have to stay ahead of the race with other players gearing up quickly. Other major telecom players like Vodafone Essar Ltd, Tata Teleservices , Bharti Airtel Ltd, Idea Cellular Ltd and Reliance Communications Ltd are expected to roll-out the service by mid-2009. These players are awaiting the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans of auctioning wireless spectrum for 3G services by mid-January.

But at the end of it MTNL should start gearing for the competition from other telecom providers. Though MTNL has the lead in terms of technology but knowing the snail-like speed of MTNL processes I am not expecting anything big.

If you are still ignorant about the entire offering you could read our article elaborating on the 3G offering.