Sibal concedes 3G wasn't a hit in India

KOLKATA, INDIA: Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal conceded on Tuesday that 3G services have not been as popular as 2G. "We will give the environment to the industry to manufacture low-cost quality smartphones. But it is the industry which has to deliver," he said, after launching Airtel's 4G services in Kolkata.

"3G has not delivered because they paid such huge prices for the spectrum and there is no liquidity in the market for them to invest in the infrastructure and the devices to deliver 3G, for which 2G was successful and 3G was not successful."

He was speaking at the launch of broadband wireless access (BWA) services based on 4G technology. Telecom major Bharti Airtel became the first telecom operator to launch BWA services based on 4G technology in the country.

A successor to the 2G and 3G families, 4G is expected to be five times quicker than 3G services. It would offer services such as high-definition mobile TV and video conferencing.

Asked when the 4G will be rolled out in other cities, the company's chairman and managing director Sunil Mittal said, "We are working very fast to launch in the other circles that we have."

"Hopefully, within this month it will be launched in Bangalore, within weeks followed by Pune, and then Chandigarh."

Airtel had bagged BWA spectrum in four telecom circles — Kolkata, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka — for Rs. 3,314.36 crore in 2010, and selected Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE to manage its services in Kolkata.

The other players are yet to announce plans to roll out 4G services.