Aircel finalises equipment vendors for 3G

Mobile phone services provider Aircel has chosen Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), Huawei and ZTE as equipment partners for rolling out its 3G network.
"We have selected Ericsson, NSN, Huawei and ZTE as equipment vendors for rolling out the network in 13 circles where we have won the 3G spectrum", Gurdeep Singh, chief operating officer, Aircel said to Telecom Yatra.
He added, "Ericsson has been awarded 3G equipment contract for six of Aircel's circles. Huawei and NSN will roll out Aircel's 3G network in three circles each; while ZTE will provide equipment for the remaining circle."
In the past Huawei, NSN and ZTE have also supplied 2G equipment to Aircel.
The company will roll out 3G services by January 2011. It will invest $500 million (Rs 2,266 crore) on 3G in the first year of launch.
The company plans to invest altogether around$15 billion (more than Rs 63,400 crore) by 2014, of which around -$7 billion (nearly Rs 30,000 crore) has already been spent on expansion of 2 G network. The remaining amount will be used on 3G and 4G network roll out, said Singh.
Talking about tariffs, Singh said that though they have not yet decided on it, 3G services will be more expensive than 2G.
The circles in which Aircel has won 3G spectrum are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Kerala, Punjab, UP (East), West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, North East, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Talking about  3G roaming , Singh said, "Ideally, we want to be (present) pan India, so we are looking at as many alliances as possible. We are talking to all the operators for service areas where we have not won 3G spectrum."
As for fourth generation wireless technologies, Singh said, "We are currently busy rolling out 3G services and haven't yet chosen either TD-LTE or WiMax. However, the company is assessing the two technologies."
The operator is also looking at technologies such as femtocells that will boost its network in highly congested areas. Aircel will release an RFP (Request For Proposal) for this soon.
Also, the company has recently been in the news because it failed to fulfill its service roll out obligations after acquiring 2G spectrum. For this reason, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended to the Department of Telecommunications that some of Aircel's licences be cancelled. When asked what the company is planning to do regarding this, Singh said, "We haven't received any official notification as yet so I cannot comment."