Google eyeing India 3G market: report
Internet giant Google is considering entering India's third-generation (3G) telecommunications market, a report said Tuesday.
The Business Standard newspaper quoted sources in India's telecom industry as saying Google may either team up with an Indian company to bid for 3G bandwidth or take on a role as a technology partner.
India is set to begin an auction of 3G radio bandwidth in January and has said foreign companies will be allowed to participate.
But non-Indian players will have to find Indian partners as India caps foreign ownership in telecommunication companies at 74 percent.
A spokesperson for California-based Google declined to comment when contacted by the paper.
Third-generation mobile services offers users high-speed access to the Internet with email and video capabilities on cellular telephones.
Experts say the auction of 3G radio spectrum for mobile services will put India's cellular market -- the fastest growing in the world -- on track for a new level of wireless telephony.
India's government has said it aims to raise 250 billion rupees (5.38 billion dollars) from the sale of 3G bandwidth.
(c) 2009 AFP