DoT sets new date for 3G auctions
25-02-2010
April 9 is the new d-day, and auction will be for three slots only
After so many missed dates, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) yesterday announced that auction of licences for 3G services would start from April 9.
In an official statement, DoT said it would issue notices inviting applications (NIA) for potential bidders tomorrow. The auction would be for three slots instead of the original four, suggesting that revenues would be far lower than the original estimates of Rs 35,000 crore.
The fourth slot will be auctioned later since spectrum for it will be available only in 2013.
One slot has already been given to state-owned MTNL and BSNL to roll out services in Delhi/Mumbai and the rest of India, respectively. The government had estimated revenues of about Rs 30,000 crore from 3G (Rs 7,500 crore each) and the rest from auction of two WiMAX slots.
The last date for receiving applications is March 19 and the pre-qualification of companies will be announced on March 30. A mock auction for interested players will be conducted on April 5 and 6, and April 9 would mark the start of the actual auction process, expected to take around 10 days.
Auction for WiMAX services will take place two days after the close of the 3G auction. There are two WiMAX slots on the offer.
Telecom operators welcomed the announcement. The auction is expected to attract big players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Aircel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. New players like Uninor are planning to bid for certain cities.
Inputs from Business Standard
After so many missed dates, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) yesterday announced that auction of licences for 3G services would start from April 9.
In an official statement, DoT said it would issue notices inviting applications (NIA) for potential bidders tomorrow. The auction would be for three slots instead of the original four, suggesting that revenues would be far lower than the original estimates of Rs 35,000 crore.
The fourth slot will be auctioned later since spectrum for it will be available only in 2013.
One slot has already been given to state-owned MTNL and BSNL to roll out services in Delhi/Mumbai and the rest of India, respectively. The government had estimated revenues of about Rs 30,000 crore from 3G (Rs 7,500 crore each) and the rest from auction of two WiMAX slots.
The last date for receiving applications is March 19 and the pre-qualification of companies will be announced on March 30. A mock auction for interested players will be conducted on April 5 and 6, and April 9 would mark the start of the actual auction process, expected to take around 10 days.
Auction for WiMAX services will take place two days after the close of the 3G auction. There are two WiMAX slots on the offer.
Telecom operators welcomed the announcement. The auction is expected to attract big players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Aircel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications. New players like Uninor are planning to bid for certain cities.
Inputs from Business Standard
