Most telco bidders get 3G spectrum
20-05-2010
Only new entrants Etisalat and Videocon are left with nothing
The 3G auctions saw most of the 9 bidders emerging winners with the exception of Etisalat and Videocon, which were unable to bag a single circle.
Vodafone, Bharti and Reliance all bagged the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai circles for Rs 3,316.93 crore and Rs 3,247.07 crore respectively.
Bharti, which had pan-India 3G ambitions, had to settle for just 13 circles along with Reliance Communications and Aircel.
Airtel is the biggest spender, forking out Rs 12,290 crore, followed by Vodafone at Rs 11,617 crore, Reliance Rs 8,583 crore, Aircel Rs 6,498 crore, Tata Rs 5,864 crore, Idea Rs 5,768.59 crore and S Tel at Rs 337 crore.
Idea won 11 circles, followed by Vodafone and Tatas with 9 circles each. S Tel bagged three circles.
According to Kunal Bajaj, MD of Analysys Mason India, a global telecom consulting firm, "all the operators have displayed extremely different bidding strategies."
Bajaj told Economic Times: "In terms of quality of circles and money spent, Idea has displayed the most intelligent bidding propensity by leaving out Delhi and Mumbai and opting for 3 category A, 5 category B and 6 category C circles. Idea has 11 circles but has the lowest financial outflow out of the five other big telcos. Similarly, while Aircel has the same number of circles as Bharti Airtel, it is paying almost half the price that Airtel is."
Bajaj pointed out that Reliance and Tatas followed opposite strategies. Reliance has opted for the high-value Delhi, Mumbai circles but no category A circles, 5 category B circles and 6 category C circles. In contrast, the Tatas have given up Delhi, Mumbai and taken 3 category A and 6 category B circles.
Service area Winning bid Successful bidders
Rs crores
Delhi 3316.93 Vodafone, Bharti and RCOM
Mumbai 3247.07 RCOM, Vodafone and Bharti
Karnataka 1579.91 Tata, Aircel and Bharti
Tamil Nadu 1464.94 Bharti, Vodafone, Aircel
A.P. 1373.14 Bharti, Idea and Aircel
Maharashtra 1257.82 Tata, Idea and Vodafone
Gujarat 1076.06 Tata, Vodafone and Idea
Kolkata 544.26 Vodafone, Aircel, RCOM
U.P.(W) 514.04 Bharti, Idea and Tata
U.P.(E) 364.57 Aircel, Idea and Vodafone
Punjab 322.01 Idea, RCOM, Tata and Aircel
Rajasthan 321.03 RCOM, Bharti and Tata
Kerala 312.48 Idea, Tata and Aircel
M.P. 258.36 Idea, RCOM and Tata
Haryana 222.58 Idea, Tata and Vodafone
Bihar 203.46 STel, Bharti, RCOM and Aircel
West Bengal 123.63 Bharti, RCOM, Vodafone and Aircel
Orissa 96.98 STel, Aircel and RCOM
North East 42.30 Aircel, Bharti and RCOM
Assam 41.48 RCOM, Bharti and Aircel
H.P. 37.23 Bharti, STel, Idea and RCOM
J&K 30.30 Idea, Aircel, RCOM and Bharti
The 3G auctions saw most of the 9 bidders emerging winners with the exception of Etisalat and Videocon, which were unable to bag a single circle.
Vodafone, Bharti and Reliance all bagged the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai circles for Rs 3,316.93 crore and Rs 3,247.07 crore respectively.
Bharti, which had pan-India 3G ambitions, had to settle for just 13 circles along with Reliance Communications and Aircel.
Airtel is the biggest spender, forking out Rs 12,290 crore, followed by Vodafone at Rs 11,617 crore, Reliance Rs 8,583 crore, Aircel Rs 6,498 crore, Tata Rs 5,864 crore, Idea Rs 5,768.59 crore and S Tel at Rs 337 crore.
Idea won 11 circles, followed by Vodafone and Tatas with 9 circles each. S Tel bagged three circles.
According to Kunal Bajaj, MD of Analysys Mason India, a global telecom consulting firm, "all the operators have displayed extremely different bidding strategies."
Bajaj told Economic Times: "In terms of quality of circles and money spent, Idea has displayed the most intelligent bidding propensity by leaving out Delhi and Mumbai and opting for 3 category A, 5 category B and 6 category C circles. Idea has 11 circles but has the lowest financial outflow out of the five other big telcos. Similarly, while Aircel has the same number of circles as Bharti Airtel, it is paying almost half the price that Airtel is."
Bajaj pointed out that Reliance and Tatas followed opposite strategies. Reliance has opted for the high-value Delhi, Mumbai circles but no category A circles, 5 category B circles and 6 category C circles. In contrast, the Tatas have given up Delhi, Mumbai and taken 3 category A and 6 category B circles.
Service area Winning bid Successful bidders
Rs crores
Delhi 3316.93 Vodafone, Bharti and RCOM
Mumbai 3247.07 RCOM, Vodafone and Bharti
Karnataka 1579.91 Tata, Aircel and Bharti
Tamil Nadu 1464.94 Bharti, Vodafone, Aircel
A.P. 1373.14 Bharti, Idea and Aircel
Maharashtra 1257.82 Tata, Idea and Vodafone
Gujarat 1076.06 Tata, Vodafone and Idea
Kolkata 544.26 Vodafone, Aircel, RCOM
U.P.(W) 514.04 Bharti, Idea and Tata
U.P.(E) 364.57 Aircel, Idea and Vodafone
Punjab 322.01 Idea, RCOM, Tata and Aircel
Rajasthan 321.03 RCOM, Bharti and Tata
Kerala 312.48 Idea, Tata and Aircel
M.P. 258.36 Idea, RCOM and Tata
Haryana 222.58 Idea, Tata and Vodafone
Bihar 203.46 STel, Bharti, RCOM and Aircel
West Bengal 123.63 Bharti, RCOM, Vodafone and Aircel
Orissa 96.98 STel, Aircel and RCOM
North East 42.30 Aircel, Bharti and RCOM
Assam 41.48 RCOM, Bharti and Aircel
H.P. 37.23 Bharti, STel, Idea and RCOM
J&K 30.30 Idea, Aircel, RCOM and Bharti
