Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) mega tender for 60 million GSM lines has been put on hold, pending 3G guidelines to be announced by the government. As 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the tender has been reserved for 3G (with each 3G line costing Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000), BSNL has decided to announce the tender only after the guidelines are in place. Communications minister Dayanidhi Maran had earlier said that India would be opened up for 3G telephony by March 2006, in which case BSNL’s mega tender would be finally called in April 2006. 3G offers speeds up to 2 Mbps compared to 10 kbps in 2G and 144 kbps in 2.5G.
