3G
On 19 May 2010, the 3G spectrum auction in India ended. Tata Docomo paid 5864.29 crores for spectrum in 9 circles. The circles it will provide 3G in are Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai), Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh & Delhi.
Apalya Technologies, has been selected by Tata Docomo as their exclusive partners for providing mobile TV services on 3G platform across India. Apalya's technology will be used to provide high quality mobile TV services on Tata Docomo's 3G platform enabling subscribers to view television channels at a higher resolution and speed.
On 5 November 2010, Tata DOCOMO became the first private sector telecom company (third overall) to launch 3G services in India. The company will be investing USD 500 million in network roll out nationally.
On January 9, 2011, it was reported by an industry source that Docomo and Aircel agreed to jointly roll out 3G networks in the areas where they both have spectrum. This would be one of the first deals of network sharing in the Indian market. Nokia Siemens Networks is carrying out a pilot for Tata Docomo and Aircel in the state of Punjab.
In the spectrum auction held last year, Aircel won 3G spectrum in 13 of India's 22 circles (service areas), while Tata was awarded 3G licenses in nine circles. This deal would give both companies 3G coverage in 19 telecom circles of India. The will not have coverage on 3 circles - Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai. The companies have three circles in common - Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab. 7
The 3G services that Tata Docomo currently offers are:
Video Calling – This service allows subscribers to do video conferencing while making voice calls.
Mobile TV – It is live TV on mobile screen that can be recorded and paused. Video from here can also be posted to social networks, and it's possible to browse the program guide and set reminders.
Let's Play – A portal for online and downloadable, single and multiplayer games. It's like a social network for gamers so users can share their scores with their friends.
Catch Up – One interface for accessing multiple email accounts, social networks and instant messengers.
Video SMS and mail – Allows users to add 30 second videos to text SMSs, and send video emails. The picture or video SMS is delivered instantly, unlike traditional MMS messages; while video mail is like voice messaging, but with video instead of voice.
On Demand Services – This service lets users watch and download videos on the phone along with news, weather and mobile premiers and movies made exclusively for mobiles. It also has music for download.
Market – an app store that contains thousands of applications across categories such as music, books, movies, travel and business.
Docomics – a comic viewer application that has popular comics such as Spiderman, X-Men, Japanese Manga etc.
Prayer – Live darshan videos from famous shrines. One can also watch live aarti and sing along with karaoke aartis.
Fortune – This service lets subscribers get live advice from astrologers on the basis of sun sign.
3G Coverage
Tata DOCOMO’s 3G service is currently available in the following cities in 9 telecom circles 8 :
Gujarat
Amreli, Anand, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Gandhidham/Kandla, Godhra, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, dahod, Ahmedabad (Amdavad)
Haryana
Ambala, Bahadurgarh, Bhiwani, Jind, Karnal, Panipat, Pinjore, Sonipat, Thanesar, Yamunanagar
Karnataka
Bangalore, Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore, Manipal, Mysore, Shimoga, Udupi.
Kerala
Kochi/Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram,Kollam
Madhya Pradesh
Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur
Maharashtra
Kolhapur, Latur, Nagpur, Pune, Shirdi, Palghar, Boisar, Saphale, Virar, Vasai.
Punjab
Abohar, Adampur, Barnala, Batala, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Fazilka, Gobindgarh, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Kotkapura, Malerkotla, Mandi, Moga, Mohali, Muktsar, Panchkula, Patiala, Phagwara, Rajpura, Sangrur
Rajasthan
Alwar, Kota, Udaipur
Uttar Pradesh (West)
Western Uttar Pradesh
Aligarh, Hapur, Mathura, Moradabad, Meerut, Modinagar, Muzaffarnagar, Rampur, Saharanpur, Template:Etawah
Uttarakhand
Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee
Share holding
NTT DoCoMo holds 26 % stake in the jointly formed company. It has also emerged as the first mobile operator in India to have re-introduced ‘per second’ pulse, after Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile) discontinued their 'pay per second' service which was introduced in 2004.
Call charges
TATA Docomo charge all local & std calls at 1p/1s. The same tariff is applicable while roaming as well (but this is applicable only on the home network). Video local calls at 5p/1s on 3G coverage area.
DIESL provides the logistics support to Tata DoCoMo.
