Ethiopia’s sole mobile operator, The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), has launched 3G services in the capital city Addis Ababa.

Only 2.4 per cent of Ethiopia’s 82.5 million inhabitants currently own a mobile phone

The WCDMA network bandwidth supports bi-directional peak data rates of between 144-384 Kbps, with network coverage limited to 49 areas of Addis Ababa.

Ethiopians will have the opportunity to make video calls, browse the Internet, access email and enjoy other data services directly from their mobile phones.

Prices range from 2.7 birrs (US$0.27) per minute for a local video call to 32.16 birrs per minute for an international video call.

In addition to GSM, the operator also provides fixed-line, Internet and data services, and has stated that multimedia messaging service (MMS) and voice mail will be launched shortly in the country of 82.5 million people.

According to the Mobile World database ETC ended the third quarter of 2008 with two million mobile subscribers, representing a penetration rate of 2.4 per cent.

An informed source in Nigeria has told Comm. that since Etisalat’s launch in the country on October 24, 2008, the UAE-based operator has become the most visible player across the country in terms of branding, visibility and awareness.

Despite Etisalat Nigeria entering as the fifth GSM operator in Africa’s most populous country, the source said that a massive impact had been felt through a strong marketing campaign prior to the launch of commercial services.

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Several telecoms executives of operators and vendors in the Middle East have expressed discontent to Comm., that recent telecoms awards ceremonies are biased and have been “bought” through sponsorship deals.

At a recent awards ceremony held in the region, more than half of the accolades on offer were won by the highpaying sponsors.

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India’s Bharti Airtel will launch 2G and 3G services in Sri Lanka on January 12, having originally acquired the licence in early 2007.

There are currently 9.8 million mobile subscribers in Sri Lanka, representing a penetration rate of 47 per cent

Airtel Lanka, the local arm of the leading Indian operator, missed its planned launch date last month following disputes with incumbent operators over interconnection agreements.

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India’s finance ministry has proposed to double the reserve prices for the country’s highly anticipated 3G auction, while the telecoms regulator has pushed back the start of the process until January 30. The auction had originally been set for January 16, with the base price for nationwide 3G spectrum set at INR20.2 billion (US$412 million).

It is understood the cabinet is reviewing the finance ministry’s proposal, with a decision to be made next week.

However, analysts suggest that if prices are raised, this could add further delays to the process, as well as narrow the pool of bidders who would participate.

The telecoms ministry anticipates receiving up to INR400 billion for the sale of the combined 3G licences, with the auction for WiMAX licences scheduled to commence two days after.

In most of the country’s 22 telecoms circles, four paired blocks of spectrum will be auctioned; however, in the Rajasthan and North East circles, 3G spectrum is not available at all.

Reserve prices for metro and category A circles had been set at INR1.6 billion category B circle at INR800 million; and category C at INR300 million.

Foreign bidders are eligible to participate in the online auction for the 15-year licences, but must have a local partner and can not hold more than a 74 per cent stake in the joint venture. If the foreign partner owns more than 49 per cent, the venture will also require clearance from the country’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Bidders must already hold a unified access service license (UASL) or cellular licence, or have experience in providing 3G services with the intention to acquire a UASL licence before commencing operations.