3G delayed again!

Will we ever see that on our phones?

Today the Indian Telecom minister, A. Raja said that India will be completing the auctions for 3G by the end of the year 2009. Telecoms.com reports that there have been some disputes between the regulator and the government which has caused the delay.

Their article makes some very interesting observations, which the government, it seems has forgotten. Though the number of players seeking the license has reduced, the availability of little spectrum in the circles means that a few years down the line Indians will be forced to call 3G a hogwash. The cellular service providers will push for adoption of this service so as to make profit, and as the number of adopters increases, so will congestion; the result will be drop in quality of service, reduction in speed, increased costs for both parties and what not. Who takes the blame then, Indian Govt. due to their ’style’ of governance or the service providers. The sufferers because of this will be as usual the citizens of India.

The regulator and Indian government have forgotten the basic principle of technology, i.e it changes quickly. European countries are already looking at bringing 4G, which means that 3G has been exploited and is moving from ’star’ category to ‘cash cow’ category. While in India we are fighting to introduce it. Wake up you people (govt. and regulator), introduce it quickly before it is too late and the world has moved on. 3G is already present in smaller and lesser prosperous countries. What’s stopping you from introducing it?

This attitude only goes to show one thing, that India begins everything with great gusto, but later all that energy and dynamism just becomes a small trickle. The government and regulator are doing just that. For all the good work that these two bodies do in this sector, it’s a wonder how they always manage to goof up in this area!

It also shows the level of mismanagement in allocating spectrum and licenses. Instead of announcing a end date, why not allow service providers to procure licenses and start rolling out services. This approach will make the government also fetch a good price for the licenses and at the same time create a competitive environment.

I have already mentioned how these delays will cost us in an earlier article of mine and I don’t want to repeat that again. More the delay, more decay in the utility of that service, less the price a person will be willing to pay for that service. I’m sure people in both the establishements know that much of economics.

I hope someone from the government realizes this and makes amends. Otherwise it will be the just another dream seen by just another prime minister!

Will India ever get 3G?

Photoshop effects courtesy Wesley.

A few days back the Indian Telecom Ministry decided to postpone the dates for auctioning the 3G spectrum in India. It had been originally planned for 18-19th of January 2009. But now it’s going to be held later in the year (If they do not postpone it again!!!)

Ani, of the S60 blog talks about another aspect of 3G in his latest post. He describes what 3G actually is and what generation is being used in India. At the end he asks a rather good question too.

Though I agree with him and his point of view. The question I will ask in the end is slightly different from his.

Now if you remember a few weeks back MTNL launched 3G services in Delhi. It was a soft launch and if you ask me, it’s nothing but an eye wash. I sincerely believe that all the telecom operators should be allowed to offer 3G services. By allowing a only a select with deep pockets to provide service is favoring the rich. At the same time the market dynamics are being changed unfavorably for the smaller players. If this is what was intended, why were fresh licenses granted to new entrants? Where is the incentive to do business, if the government is unfair?

The government has also stated that there is not enough spectrum in many places in India, while some do not have it at all. Why is this so? What is the use of having 3G if it will be available only in ’some’ areas? Why can that spectrum not be available throughout the country?

The reserve price has also not been fixed and finalized (God alone knows whether the current minimum amount will remain fixed till the auction process actually begins!). One thing is for sure, it is definitely high. With such a high amount for 3G license and spectrum, will 3G remain viable for the common man?

Let me tell you what 3G could do for India. If you have read Ani’s post, you will know that the maximum speed possible on such a network would be close to 14.4 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s on the uplink. The current definition of broadband (in India) stipulates the minimum speed has to be 256 kbps for it to be called broadband. 3G would mean that you could surf the internet at speeds up to 14.4 mbps. What will you prefer 256kbps or 14.4mbps? Imagine just because of 3G how many homes in India would be able to have high speed internet. How many villages could get connected. How much progress the country could make. On a more practical level, would it not speed up the way we look at things around us? Because of high speed internet technologies and ideas like Youtube, IPTV were born. With the advent of 3G speeds, don’t you think more innovation will take place? The Indian Government has many a times stated, that, it wants the broadband connectivity to increase in the country; and when there is a means to do it, it is dilly dallying. Additionally, by putting high minimum bid prices, it will make 3G costly for everyone in the country. As a result 3G will remain out of reach of the common man. This means that 3G will be a failure and then who is going to take responsibility of not connecting India to the world? I’m sure it would be the previous government, isn’t it Mr/Mrs. future telecom minister!

At the rate at which Mr. A Raja is delaying the bidding process, I am sure that 3G will become obsolete technology. He needs to know that 4G is already being developed and being tested and it won’t be long before it becomes a standard in a few countries. After having wasted so much time in giving 3G licenses, the question still remains, ‘Will India ever get 3G?’

Considering the way things are at this point and the way things work in India, I don’t think India will ever get 3G and I hope it doesn’t. What good would it be if only a few players could offer it and what good is it, when LTE is being developed as the next ‘G’. This new technology is slated to use new spectrum. What then Mr. Telecom Minister?

This brings me to a question that I want to ask you…
Would you have used 3G for connecting to the internet if it was already available and affordable?

Please leave your answers and comments below!

Been busy!

I am so sorry for not having posted anything new this past week. The mobile phone arena seems to be constantly changing and I regret not having updated my blog with new posts this entire week. It is difficult to do an MBA and keep a blog running at the same time. It becomes even more difficult when the campus is away from the city and the internet connectivity is pathetic. I wish 3G were here in India right now.But I don’t see it coming before June-July 2009 (sigh!).

This weekend or perhaps tomorrow, expect a barrage of posts from me on whats been happening in the mobile phone arena!

Till then stay tuned!

S60 through my eyes

S60, Formerly known as ‘Series 60′. has really come of age. From humble beginnings with the Nokia 7650 to the soon to be launched ‘Tube’. I remember when the 7650 was the latest phone available in the market. A friend of mine had purchased it, and I was the lucky soul amongst my group to get to fiddle around with it for a whole day. The second looks I got form the opposite sex (hey I was in college!), Priceless!
I still remember how user friendly I found the OS. At no point in time did it leave me lost or scared. Nokia had hit the bulls eye! Everything the 7650 could do was revolutionary. It had more features than the next most expensive phone. It offered more customization than any other phone.
From those beginnings, Nokia began to work on this software. Then came the next step, when we started getting 3rd party softwares. It made the camera phone into a ’smart phone’.
The next big break in terms of software, I believe came when it introduced the 6600 (and its variations). The software had really undergone a change. It could do a lot more. Through 3rd party applications it was possible to transform this into a full fledged mp3 player, one could increase the resolution of the camera, and what have you. Truly S60 had arrived.
From then on, It became a feature; ‘a must have’ for phones. I’ m sure at many places this is what made the difference when it came to buying a phone.
Then came the 6630, which completely changed the way we looked at a Symbian phone. It had incorporated a number of 3rd party solutions unto itself. One did not need as many 3rd party applications now. Oh, I almost forgot about the development of the Ngage platform. Even though it did not set the world on fire, it sure provided a decent spark. It showcased the ability of the S60 software to also be a entertainment phone in the truest sense. Mobile phone gaming really caught on after that in terms of development and acceptability. It wasn’t until the 6680 and 6681/6682 that S60 had really become a force to reckon with. With the integration of 3G services. It showcased the best of Nokia in terms of usability. The ’smart phone’ market now had become a huge category. One over which Nokia had considerable influence. With such a solid software, other manufacturers had begun feeling the heat. Suddenly A SonyEricsson was not that good and others too. Who would have thought that an OS could change the fortunes for many companies.
But at the same time, other manufacturers had started catching up on the lead created by Nokia. They were offering similar and at times better solutions to the people. Java and Linux had increasingly become part of the arsenal of many a OS. Microsoft too had entered this market. Something had to be done.
The answer lies with the introduction of the ‘N series’. In many ways it was a step forward in redefining the market. While the ‘N series’ brought with it many hardware upgrades. It also a brought a heavily reworked and refreshed S60. The new edition had a lot of changes. In many ways it was just like when Windows 98 gave way to XP.
The new S60 (3rd edition) changed the way we looked at phones. One could do a lot more things with a phone now. In many ways the phones had started changing the way we looked at them, as mere calling and messaging objects. Around this time, the other ’series’ softwares were put to sleep, namely the S80 and S90.
The new S60 allowed greater security and flexibility as compared to previous versions. Flash Players, mobile servers et all became a reality after the introduction of this new edition.
Then came the next step, Feature Pack 1. which added more features and security. (head on over to http://www.mobile-review.com/review/series60v3fp1-en.shtml to read a in depth look at the new OS)
And now it is the Feature Pack 2. This new pack seeks to change the way look at S60. Gone are the rather boring looks. In come, new ways of organizing menus, new features, etc. I wish that the FP2 is implemented on the N82 as well. Its not fair for only N81 and the new E series and N78 to bask in the glory! Nokia, I hope you are listening to me!
(for a in depth analysis of the FP2: http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-s60-fp2-full-en.shtml )