India's DoT (Department of Telecom) announced on November 12 that it plans to release 3G spectrum in 2.1GHz band via an auction process to mobile service operators, according to a Dow Jones news report.

The DoT plans to auction about 30MHz spectrum to three operators in the initial phase, enabling each to operate 3G services with 10MHz spectrum. No mergers will be allowed in the first five years of operations. Furthermore, trading or reselling of 3G spectrum is prohibited.

In addition, the DoT stated that spectrum will be auctioned to telecom operators using CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) technology and offering WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access) services as well. Up to 10MHz spectrum will be offered to each WiMAX operator.

Nevertheless, the DoT has not specified a timetable for 3G spectrum release yet.