Big guns win 3G spec in Mumbai, Delhi
19-05-2010
Vodafone, Bharti, Reliance must now justify their huge outlays
Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications won 3G mobile spectrum in the key Mumbai and Delhi circles as an Indian auction that had far exceeded bid expections ended on its 34th day.
Nine private operators participated in the auction for three licences that will generate roughly $11 billion for a deficit-strapped India government and ended with no single carrier winning 3G spectrum in all 22 circles up for bid.
A fourth licence will be sold separately and has been reserved for state operators.
Vodafone Essar, the UK giant's India unit, will pay about $2.5 billion for its India 3G mobile spectrum, according to data on a government website. Bharti, the country's biggest carrier, is paying about $2.6 billion.
Bidding surpassed expectations and will help the government plug its fiscal deficit, which last year reached a 16-year high.
The outcome of the auction is expected to exacerbate the gap between the haves and the have-nots in India's crowded and fiercely competitive mobile market and eventually trigger a wave of consolidation.
It will also put pressure on the winners, who are paying more than expected for the right to provide high-speed data services, to justify their outlays.
The 3G auction will be followed by an auction for wireless broadband spectrum, for which 11 firms are vying for two national licences for private operators, with one slot reserved for state telecoms firms.
Input from Business Standard
Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications won 3G mobile spectrum in the key Mumbai and Delhi circles as an Indian auction that had far exceeded bid expections ended on its 34th day.
Nine private operators participated in the auction for three licences that will generate roughly $11 billion for a deficit-strapped India government and ended with no single carrier winning 3G spectrum in all 22 circles up for bid.
A fourth licence will be sold separately and has been reserved for state operators.
Vodafone Essar, the UK giant's India unit, will pay about $2.5 billion for its India 3G mobile spectrum, according to data on a government website. Bharti, the country's biggest carrier, is paying about $2.6 billion.
Bidding surpassed expectations and will help the government plug its fiscal deficit, which last year reached a 16-year high.
The outcome of the auction is expected to exacerbate the gap between the haves and the have-nots in India's crowded and fiercely competitive mobile market and eventually trigger a wave of consolidation.
It will also put pressure on the winners, who are paying more than expected for the right to provide high-speed data services, to justify their outlays.
The 3G auction will be followed by an auction for wireless broadband spectrum, for which 11 firms are vying for two national licences for private operators, with one slot reserved for state telecoms firms.
Input from Business Standard
