Motorola said Thursday that it has been contracted by one of the smaller Indian operators, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), for the supply of a UMTS 3G network for Delhi and the National Capital Region.

The move looks to be the first rollout of UMTS in India and comes ahead of the country’s licensing of 3G spectrum.

“As the first UMTS rollout in India, the UMTS network deployment will take place after the relevant regulatory authority of India has authorized spectrum allocation and appropriate licenses are obtained by the network operators,” Motorola said.

MTNL said it has ordered UMTS equipment for validation and plans to place further orders subject to allocation of frequency spectrum. The network will be deployed in two phases, each covering approximately 1 million subscribers.