But the cost of establishing the 3G network will be redeemed from the customers initially, until someone new comes up with cheap 3G plans.
It's unlikely that, even if operators sub-lease or otherwise resell their spectrum to another operator, that it would be at a rate sufficiently cheap enough that that second operator would be able to undercut the first: new or existing.
I think though that there is one issue the the operators will find difficult to get around - they've kind of priced themselves in to a corner in that people now expect prices of 50p to 1 rupee a minute and super-cheap SMS - for people to pick up 3G plans, they're not going to be able to charge significantly more (if at all) and if they do charge more, then they're going to shoot themselves in the foot.
The difference will be in the killer 3G app: data. Operators already are going to have to build super efficient networks, and in populated centres, super dense networks, in order to offer solid coverage and good speeds across their coverage areas (and to avoid black-spots).
If, one day, some new operator (such as ourselves) is able to get in to mobile, then it would be interesting to see what the situation is, requirements are, and, of course, the costs to do it.
