Tata DOCOMO, the GSM arm of Tata Teleservices Limited, today said it would launch its 3G services in nine telecom circles across the country on November 5, the Diwali day.

It would become the first private operator to launch 3G services in the country with technology support from its Japanese partner NTT DOCOMO, the global leader in 3G services, a top company official said here.

Tata Teleservices Limited shall simultaneously launch its 3G services on November 5 in all the nine circles where it has the 3G licence- Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh-Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP (West), Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra, Tata Teleservices Limited Managing Director Anil Sardana told reporters.

"We have been able to complete the ramp-up of our network to support 3G services due to the superb 3G-ready netwrok we created at the time our 2G launch itself, last year. Our 3G rollout across all nine circles will be completed this year itself", he said.

Tata DOCOMO's HSPA+ 3G network, set up with the assistance of NTT DOCOMO, supports high-speed internet access with speeds of up to 21.1 Mbps. The network also supports high-definition voice (HD Voice) for a superior voice experience on calls.

"We will cover 51 per cent of Indian towns with a population of over a million for over a million and 60 per cent of towns that have over half-a-million people.

Additionally, our footprint covers 55 per cent households with an annual income of over Rs three lakh and 49 per cent households in the remaining cagtegories", Sardana added.

Deepak Gulati, Executive President, Mobility Business Division, Tata Teleservices Limited, said "Our 3G srvices will enable richer communications through video calls and SMSs, add the advantage of adding mobility to the power of internet".

3G devices such as handsets, dongles and tablets, powered by Tata DOCOMO applications and services will be available across 4,000 3G lifezones in the nine circles, he said.

Tata DOCOMO had invested around USD 500 million on 3G services, he said adding the 3G offering starts off with applications like Video-SMS, Video-Streaming, Mobile Television, Ultra-High-Speed Data Transfers, Route-Finder, Live Aarti and much more.

"Our customers can watch 50 TV channels on their 3G handsets to begin with. We will be taking the number to 90 in the coming days", Gulati said.

As an inaugural offering the 3G services will be free till November 11, he said.