India's major telecom companies discussed infrastructure sharing Tuesday in a meeting with government officials.

No decisions came out of the session where Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran pressed for an agreement to expand telecom services into the under-served countryside.

"We must create infrastructure in rural areas, which will take not only telephony but also broadband to villages," Maran said in his opening remarks.

Press Trust India said its sources reported that Maran's department favored a bidding process for rural infrastructure. Service providers would receive a subsidy from the country's Universal Service Obligation Fund.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International