The Ministry of Defence has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that the armed services would require more time, up to 390 days, for vacating the 45 MHz spectrum. This is primarily due to failure on the part of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to complete the Rs 9.8 billion alternative optic fibre backbone for the armed forces as per schedule. Consequently, it will now be possible to launch 3G services only by 2008 instead of the second half of 2007.
