4G could thwart government's 3G plans

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4G could thwart government's 3G plans
Bangalore: While India is yet to decide on a policy on 3G mobile telephony, Motorola which has tested Long Term Evolution (LTE), is all prepared to start trial services of 4G by the end of this year. The move could spoil things for the Indian government, which plans to auction 3G spectrum in the country. The government has been planning to raise 35,000 crore by auctioning radio frequency for 3G. If Motorola tests 4G, which can offer 70 Mbps download speed on a mobile phone, operators planning to launch 3G telephony may rather wait and watch. Motorola is likely to approach the Department of Telecom (DoT) for trial spectrum, said Subhendu Mohanty, Senior Executive with Network's Mobility Business, Motorola India. The DoT is understood to have prepared a concept paper on 4G. According to industry sources, apart from Motorola, other telecom vendors are also in the process of trials. Asked whether Motorola is in talks with operators, Mohanty said, "We would like to have trial with the players, but the technology can also be tested on our own systems." When contacted by PTI, DoT officials refused to talk about when 4G can be considered for commercial deployment as it would depend on the availability of spectrum and viability of services in India.