Network Tech

India's long-awaited auction of 3G spectrum is expected to generate INR350 billion (US$7.26 billion), reports Reuters, citing the country's annual budget outlined on Monday.

India's state-owned mobile operator BSNL has confirmed it is studying bids from Ericsson India and Huawei for a contract to supply 93 million GSM lines in India, which is believed to be one of the largest tenders of its kind.

Huawei today launched the world' s first convergent Base Station Controller (BSC) which integrates both the GSM BSC and the UMTS RNC (Radio Network Controller) into one multi-mode controller.

Huawei has appointed a former Nortel executive, Tim Watkins, as VP of Huawei Western Europe.

Telegeography, citing Vietnamese news source Thanh Nien Daily, is reporting that military-owned Telco Viettel will deploy HSPA mobile infrastructure for its 3G network by the end of 2009.

Cellular News notes that Singaporean operator StarHub will launch a commercial HSPA+ service from tomorrow, with devices provided by Huawei.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Cisco Systems laid off several hundred employees yesterday, as part of the company's plan to control its costs amid declining sales.