3G licences coming to China and India

Chinese regulators have announced the issuing of 3G licences to the country's three operators: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. India, on the other hand, has again postponed the auction for 3G licences.

Ovum analysts Charice Wang and Raymond Yu said operators in China and India have massive incentive to procure a licence, considering the size of each country's mobile market.

"On average, over 7 million new subscribers were added every month in 2008 in each market. Each has a population of over 1 billion and a mobile penetration rate of less than 50%, so there is still huge potential for growth in both mobile markets," the analysts said.

"Therefore, mobile operators in both markets have strong incentives to obtain a licence and invest in 3G."

According to Ovum, the issue of 3G licences in these markets will accelerate the markets.

"Vendors will welcome the news in both markets. It is a golden opportunity for global equipment and handset vendors at a time when there are few signs of growth," Wang and Yu said.