Long-awaited 3G services in India may once again be placed on hold as the government has asked operators like Reliance Comm and Tata Teleservices to stop their launch of 3G. The telecom operators will only be allowed to resume launching 3G services once they have adhered to the government's security norms for legal interception.

It seems that these norms seem to mostly apply to 3G video calls. The Department of Telecommunications says that for security measures, they need to be able to intercept these video calls in real time. During a demonstration by the telecom operators, the DoT found that calls longer than eight minutes could not be intercepted.

This hold comes at the annoyance of privatetelecom operators as state-owned telecom operators, MTNL and BSNL have been allowed to roll out their 3G services with none of these security issues addressed. 

Reliance Infocomm subscribers who sign up for its two-year wireless Internet contract will now receive an Acer Aspire One Netbook bundled along with the purchase of a Reliance data card enabled net connection.
This comes at the cost of a monthly installment of Rs. 1500.S Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer, Acer India, said, "Acer is proud to be associated with Reliance Infocomm in this innovative initiative which we think is truly disruptive. With the power of the Acer Aspire One Netbook, that is engineered to provide the best net-centric user experience and with the enabling ecosystem that is being engendered by Reliance, we believe it is a new defining moment for bringing mobile computing to the common masses.""With a population of close to 1.2 billion and only 12 million Internet connections, the growth potential of Internet Data Services in India is all set to trace the penetration curve of mobile services which are currently adding over 100 million new subscribers every year. The growth of Internet services in India is one of the key visions of Reliance Communications ", said Mahesh Prasad, President – Reliance Communications. "The next phase of growth of Internet penetration in the country is linked to the growth in PC and Laptop penetration offering an opportunity to empower all Indians by making the overall cost of Internet access more affordable".

The 8.9-inch Acer Aspire One weighs in at less than one kilo, offers numerous connectivity possibilities, a full and easy-to-use software application suite and battery life of up to 3 hours.

Check out our review of the Acer Aspire One.