Telecom News --

3G Spectrum auction by April 9

The much-delayed spectrum auctions for third generation, or 3G, mobile phone services will take place on April 9, government said on Wednesday, paving the way for telecom operators to offer high-speed voice and data applications.

The government will invite applications from prospective bidders from Feb. 25 and the last day for submitting bids is March 19. It will announce the pre-qualified bidders on March 30 and hold mock auctions on April 5 and April 6, an official statement said.

An auction for broadband wireless access services will be held two days after the completion of 3G bandwidth auctions.

Mobile operators today welcomed the announcement of 3G spectrum schedule saying though delayed, it has set the ball rolling for the much-delayed process.

Market leader Bharti welcomed the government's announcement of schedule for auctioning 3G spectrum and said it will be participating in the process. 3G technology will take telecom services in India to the next level and bring immense benefits to customers, it added.

COAI, the GSM operators association said it is an excellent move by the government.

"Industry had been eagerly awaiting the 3G Auctions to provide its benefits to the entire country. Private GSM industry is all geared up to provide high speed Internet and widerange of multimedia services," T R Dua officiating Director General said here.

Samaresh Parida, Director Strategy, Vodafone Essar said "We welcome the announcement made by the Ministry of Telecom on schedule of 3G auctions. Discussions around 3G and spectrum allocation have been on for a while now and the introduction of 3G technology will be a catalyst to the data revolution in India. We hope that the auctions are held as per the announced schedule and our consumers are able to experience the benefits of 3G."

Another GSM services provider Tata Teleservices Managing Director Anil Sardana said, "We are really glad that the government has announced the revised schedule for 3G auction and we look forward to the entire process being completed within the given time frame."

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For 3G/BWA spectrum auction Time-table - click here