India's DoT (Department of Telecom) has decided on a policy that all companies with a UAL (Unified Access License) will be eligible to bid for 3G mobile communications license, so as to balance the competition between old and new telecom operators, according to a report by India's Business Line on March 20.

The DoT's decision is expected to enable companies such as Shyam, Unitech, Videocon, STel, and Swan, which were recently awarded new licenses, to participate in the auction for 3G services. These new companies will have to pay an entry fee of 16.5 billion Rupees (US$409.2 million; US$1=40.3 Rupees) for the UAL in order to bid for pan-India operations. Companies including Moser Baer, Hindujas, and AT&T - which were unable to obtain a 2G service license previously - are expected to also benefit from the DoT's new policy and have the chance to bid for 3G service license.