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We have come a long way since NTT DoCoMo launched a WCDMA network in 2001. Today, it is estimated that the world over there are about 60 3G networks across 25 countries and the figures are growing continuously. All over the world the 3G technology is being looked forward to. It offers a way forward from the current standards of mobile telephony and allows companies with added spectrum to provide consumers with additional applications and facilities.

As we move toward being better connected, we are fast approaching a time when operators would be faced with spectrum shortage and its incapability to support higher end applications. 3G would be the answer at that time. It is by far a much more efficient technology platform that will enable operators to leverage high voice traffic as well as drive the adoption of mobile data applications among mobile users.

This boom has triggered another phenomenon-3G phones which offer a plethora of high-speed services viz video-conferencing, MMS, e-mail, video games and live information services. These features, coupled with increasing technology awareness among users and the ever-present innovative services, are pushing the demand for 3G phones to a new high. At present, according to a research done by Strategy Analytics, the number of global users of 3G mobile technologies has already reached more than 100 mn as of June 2006.

India too is bracing itself for this changeover. As per estimates, India is expected to have 21.3 mn 3G users by 2010. Six million new subscribers are added to India's subscriber base every year and 3G is forecasted to enable mobile operators to reach out to a wider subscriber base across the length and breadth of the country. Estimates say that India is likely to become the second largest telecom market by 2010. According to a CII Yankee study on 3G in India, the Indian market is particularly well placed to take advantage of the 3G service offerings in content categories such as sports, games and music.

The Standard-IMT 2000
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) formed the 3G standard called IMT-2000. This standard aimed to harmonize the 3G systems worldwide to provide "global roaming". Since harmonizing so many different standards proved to be a mammoth task, we have five different standards grouped together under the IMT-2000 label. These are W-CDMA, CDMA2000, TD-CDMA/TD-SCDMA, DECT, and UWC-136. Among the five standards, only three: W-CDMA, CDMA2000, and TD-SCDMA, allow full network coverage and can be considered as full 3G solutions. The remaining, DECT is used for the digital cordless phones and 3G short-range "hot-spots". UWC-136 is another name for EDGE, which is generally considered to be a 2.5G solution.

Basics for 3G Success
The 3G experiences of European and leading 3G markets like Korea and Japan are a great lesson for Indian telecom players to learn from and formulate their strategies. Pricing of handsets, availability of the right value added 3G services, price packaging and the business model of operators would be the critical deciding factors for the success of 3G. A 3G phone is expected to enable higher data rates, better screen resolution thereby giving the user a wonderful 3G experience.

3G technologies and future enhancements will offer the most expeditious and cost-effective means of providing broadband Internet access to the mass market. Web-based applications such as multimedia messaging, e-mail, content download and more recently mobile web logs (blogging), are just few examples of the applications available via 3G. Also considering the greater amount of mobile traffic that can be supported by the 3G networks, its implementation would also provide greater impetus to rural telephony.

There is a lot of buzz for 3G phones in the country today and the sales of 3G enabled phones are gradually increasing. Yet a lot is dependent on the rollout of 3G in India. Once 3G is rolled out, the manufacturers will have to devise a distribution strategy to market their phones either through the operator, distributors or through retail chains.

HS Bhatia, business group head, GSM Phones, LGEIL says, "LG has its own retail chain, and it also sells through distributor and operator tie-ups. In India we shall decide depending upon the feasibility of all the options and once the direction is clear from the government on the regulations and license fees." On the other hand Ramdev Sharma, chief technology/marketing officer (CTMO), Huawei India is of the view, "The mode of distribution will primarily be driven by the business model adopted by the operators." In order to lower the entry barrier for 3G services, the operators might adopt a business model of service packaging and bundling to subsidize handsets. Also, 3G handsets require certain level of operators' specific customization and programming for conveniently accessing 3G value added services. So, owing to these market factors, the initial mode of distribution through the operator would be more appropriate."