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At the closer of the India’s 3G auctions, most of bidders including the biggies Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications emerging winners for the 3G airwaves. While latest entrant in GSM arena Videocon Telecommunications Ltd and Etisalat DB were unable to win a single circle.
The GSM biggies Vodafone Essar, Bharti Airtel and dual technology operator Reliance Communications (Rcom) bagged the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai circles for a whopping Rs.3316.93 crore & Rs 3247.07 crore respectively and hope to get good 3G subscriber base initially with the commercial launch in both circles.
India’s largest GSM service provider Bharti Airtel, which had pan-India 3G ambitions, had to settle for just for 13 telecom circles along with Reliance Communications and Aircel. The company said in a statement “We would like to point out that the auction format and severe spectrum shortage along with ensuing policy uncertainty, drove the prices beyond reasonable levels. As a result, we could not achieve our objective of pan India 3G footprint in this round.”
Bharti Airtel has emerged successful in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai service area), UP West, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir.
Another Pan-India operator Aircel emerged as the biggest spender which bagged 3G license for its strong hold areas and covers almost South and East region of the country. Aircel has the same number of telecom circles for 3G services as Bharti Airtel. But at very lower financial outflow compare to Airtel, it is paying almost half the price that Bharti Airtel is.
Mr. Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel said to TelecomTalk “After several rounds of competitive bidding, Aircel has bagged 13 telecom circles in 3G for Rs. 6500 crores which will allow us to take our Data Strategy to the next level. This further opens new revenue opportunities and gives way to a dynamic Business Model.”
He also added “We now cover the whole of Southern and Eastern belt where we have our strong presence and in J&K, Punjab & UP (East) as well. With this we will be able to offer seamless connectivity and meaningful products and services to our consumers which will eventually change their life and open a world of possibilities.”
The 3rd largest GSM mobile service operator Idea Cellular is the winner in 11 service areas at very lowest financial outflow out of the five other big service providers. Idea cellular win eleven circles at total cost of Rs. 5768.59 cr. According to the company’s statement “With the 2.1 GHz (3G Spectrum) footprint of Idea Cellular covers a very high proportion (81%) of Idea’s total national revenues. Idea believes its bidding strategy and the Auction results significantly enhance Idea’s competitive position in the market.”
Reliance Communications (Rcom) which has bagged 3G spectrum in 13 circles including Delhi and Mumbai as well as category ’C’ circle said that ” Company plans to strongly leverage its media, gaming, cinema and broadcasting capabilities to offer its customers a unique true 3G experience.”
While the Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) have given up Delhi, Mumbai and taken 3 category A and 6 category B circles. In an statement TTSL said “The company management is very delighted with the outcome of the 3G spectrum auction, especially as we have bagged the best telecom Circles from the perspective of their cumulative market potential, particularly so when we take into consideration the overall spend on these.
Significantly, we have covered the entire geography of prosperous India on the Western side, while there is no entanglement with Category ‘C’ circles– therefore, this has proven to be a most capex-optimized bidding for us.TTSL did pursue the major metros in the country, but decided to drop out of the bidding when the sheer outlay made these a winner’s curse”
India’s 3G Spectrum Winners (Private Operators) circle wise-:
| Telecom Circle | Bharti Airtel | Vodafone | Aircel | Reliance Comm (GSM) | Idea Cellular | TataTele/ Tata Docomo | STel |
| Delhi | YES | YES | NO | YES | NO | NO | NA |
| Mumbai | YES | YES | NO | YES | NO | NO | NA |
| Kolkata | NO | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO | NA |
| Chennai & Tamilnadu | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO | NO | NA |
| Andhra Pradesh | YES | NO | YES | NO | YES | NA | |
| Assam | YES | NO | YES | YES | NO | NO | NO |
| Bihar & Jharkhand | YES | NO | YES | YES | NO | NO | YES |
| Gujarat | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | NA |
| Haryana | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | NA |
| Himachal Pradesh | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | NO | YES |
| Jammu & Kashmir | YES | NO | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO |
| Karnataka | YES | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | NA |
| Kerala | NO | NO | YES | NO | YES | YES | NA |
| Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh | NO | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES | NA |
| Maharashtra & Goa | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | YES | NA |
| North East | YES | NO | YES | YES | NO | NO | NO |
| Orissa | NO | NO | YES | YES | NO | NO | YES |
| Punjab | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES | YES | NA |
| Rajasthan | YES | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | NA |
| Uttar Pradesh East | NO | YES | YES | NO | YES | NO | NA |
| Uttar Pradesh West | YES | NO | NO | NO | YES | YES | NA |
| West Bengal & Sikkim | YES | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO | NA |
Read More on 3G Auction Results India’s 3G Auction Ends, No Single Bidder Bid For a Pan-India 3G License
nayeemuddin khadri September 2, 2010 at 12:02 am
Mr/ms Sun, you do one thing use MNP service in the 3G and go to the other operator so that you dont need to change your mobile number.
Sun July 12, 2010 at 4:58 pm
if airtel has lost 3g in punjab………..what do they plan to do now??? does that mean customers here will stay without 3g??? …………..??
Starpco July 4, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Aircel idea and vodafone win the bid for up east then we will see hot war between them lets wait and watch.
Starpco July 4, 2010 at 11:30 pm
So many excitment about 3G
Ravi Nalla June 21, 2010 at 11:43 am
when 3g serices will launched? i am eagerly waiting for fastest internet though my mobile
TURKEE May 28, 2010 at 1:07 am
Vodafone has bagged licence in all metros, A & B category circles. It is the most experienced company to handle 3G services all over the world. It will surely get its profitability and let me tell you friends Vodafone already has 3G setup in place for metros. As far as tariff or Data charges are concerned, it will be competitive, better than MTNL/BSNL at least.
Abhijith May 27, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Dont expect any cheaper data rate in 3g from vodafone . . Worst network in india . . Just its advertisement is good with dogs and dolls. . but not in quality and customer satisfaction. . Oly other networks like Airtel, aircel,tata,idea,bsnl,uninor will take customer friendly data charges in 3g
Roy May 25, 2010 at 3:21 am
Hi Arjun I think you don’t know that Airtel at first launch NOP(Net Over Phone) when Aircel was thinking to expand their service in various Circle…It is around in the Year in 2007
mekalwin T May 24, 2010 at 7:33 pm
@Max thank you
Max May 24, 2010 at 1:43 pm
@mekalwin T
very good Article mekalwin, ur rite operators are in great fear bcos of 3G & lets hope that they will get back money with ease without hurting subscribers.. since in india only 5% of population uses 3G enabled handsets it will be difficult for 3 operators to conquer this little market/circle.. till now only 13% of the total mobile subscribers use 3G throught the world. so this will be a tough fight for operators.
rajiev May 24, 2010 at 1:30 pm
reliance ne airtel ki copy kari hai
mekalwin T May 24, 2010 at 12:28 pm
The 3G auction money will have to be paid in 20 days and without a doubt, this payment will adversely impact the bottomline of telecom operators. Profitablity from 3G services will be a question. Breakeven will be in the long term and there will be pressure on these companies to be profitable and afloat for the next few years. Experts predict that across the industry, 3G auction breakeven should take at least five years.
Considering that the current fixed 3G rentals per month per subscriber (Rs 25 per month over and above voice plan of BSNL) and a penetration of 20% of total mobile subscriber base, operators would generate just about Rs 3,000 crore per year from rentals. Despite making payments for 3G access, the telcos need to fork out more money to invest in 3G network equipment in India. Thus operators will have to work overtime to ensure 3G services usage generates enough revenues per annum to enable normal pay back and returns.
However, sensing the European trends where many telecos went bankrupt after paying astronomical amounts for 3G licenses, loan offers have started coming in from banks. The State Bank of India announced that it will lend about Rs 20,000 crore for operators participating in the auction for 3G spectrum. The bank as of March end had liquidity of Rs 40,000 crore. The 3G auction could reduce it by 50% if there is no further growth in its deposits. SBI revealed that more than one 3G operator had approached SBI and the bank had given appropriate limits to them.
Borrowers have expressed fears that if money for the 3G auctions flows out of the banking system to the government, liquidity would dry up and interest rates will go up. However, this could reverse if more foreign investments come to India.
Despite all the fears, India is adding 12-16 million new mobile phone users a month and the country has around 500 million subscribers currently. Moreover, the rising price of the auction has forced most telcos to let go of pan-Indian ambitions. Sticking to certain regions could very well become profitable for the companies. Only time will tell, however, if 3G in India will be a genuine success.
Arafat Hossain Piyada May 24, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Aircel was the worst telecoms service I have ever used, they don’t allow me to send ‘START DND’ message to 1909 and send me 12-15 voice message along with 20+ sms promo daily. I tried their customer care but no luck yet. Their internet service have worst speed. I hope this time they going to do something good.
Sanjay Bafna May 24, 2010 at 11:55 am
Vodafone official statement was not come to us at the time of the news. Thanks
Arjun.C May 24, 2010 at 11:47 am
@Roy
AirTel Introduced Only AirTel Live and AirTel Mobile Office.NOT Pocket Internet
rajiev May 24, 2010 at 9:51 am
truly unlimited provided the only one telecom network that is aircel
Prasath J May 24, 2010 at 1:38 am
Bafna Ji, what does the Vodafone guys told??? Please update that too….
Roy May 23, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Bhai Pocket Internet was introduced by Airtel, Aircel ke internet ke bare mein sochne se bhi pehele…… So Airtel is father of Pocket Internet & Mobile Internet@Mahmood Junaid
manish sodhiya May 23, 2010 at 12:57 pm
kitne crore me 3g spectrum ki bidd final hui hia.
IDRIS May 23, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I am waiting for MNP……!
aks May 23, 2010 at 11:25 am
don’t worry dude… they are not like govt. companies they know how to make money…
and the 3G plans not gonna cheaper plan…
after 3G launching most of people would stuck with 2G, because 2G plan will be more cheaper.. as the operators who not get 3G license they gonna tough fight to others.. n one more thing u know 3G means u ll get video calling n high speed internet extra only..
as video calling it will b for fun only.. most of the people ll like making voice calls… as world wide survey proved it already..
n internet ll b useful for the persons who use internet on mobile for business purpose or for official…
n for us the wireless broadband ll be more cheaper in future..
just wait n watch..
thank you…
Manish May 23, 2010 at 7:09 am
Hi moderator why you not approve my comment.
Agni May 22, 2010 at 11:23 pm
The big monsters BSNL & MTNL wil bang.nd frm the rest airtel and rcom will be fighting wid each others.
rajiev May 22, 2010 at 10:47 pm
@Mahmood Junaid
good to see
rajiev May 22, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@Ankit
phir profit kaise payega agar share karengein to . phir to bidding ke paise bhi nahi nikal payegien
Ankit May 22, 2010 at 10:18 pm
nice point
Mahmood Junaid May 22, 2010 at 10:05 pm
aircel has changed the life of indians with the introduction of pocket internet what others had followed… reliance had made mobile affordable to indians but aircel put internet into the pocket of indians… they are the father of indian mobile internet revolution… hope they will continue it in 3g scenario too… expects unlimited data plans at 600rs/month….
happy that they had won the 3g bid in kerala… good luck aircel… make broadband accessible to the AAM AADHMI….
Arjun.C May 22, 2010 at 9:27 pm
GOOD LUCK TO SUNIL MITTAL AND GURUDEEP SINGH TEAM THOSE WHO HAS GOT 3G LICENSE IN 13 DIFFERENT TELECOM CIRCLES
Abhilash May 22, 2010 at 8:39 pm
i just need good data packages at affordable rate, which is the main aim behind this 3G. Let us wait and see who will offer an UL data pack at affordable rate may be around Rs-500. My heart goes with aircel and wish they come up with something like the Rs97 UL GPRS pack in 2G, which i am using for quite sometime.
aks May 22, 2010 at 8:18 pm
i think operators conduct a meeting before Bid..
and they divide there circles who gonna bid n where they bid… that’s why no one get PAN-INDIA
license…
i think they also decided to share there Spectrum within them… that’s way they ll be able to serve us service all over INDIA…
Mohan May 22, 2010 at 6:46 pm
There will be one more round of auctions for other slots available in a few years, There are at least 6 to 8 slots available in all the circles other than what is auctioned. Karnataka had around 12 slots for 3G , only 4 slots have been auctioned. Eventually most of the 2G operators will enter 3G when remaining slots are auctioned.
The present 3G auction looks more likely a deal within operators, all the old players have won, not the new entrants – as they want the latter to stabilize in 2G for few more years before they make money entering 3G (Because many 3G slots are not auctioned, and are available for later date).
Previously, Govt followed the same model for 2G auctions also.
Arjun.C May 22, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Good Luck for the GSM Operators Who Won 3G LICENSE and better luck next time for others.
Arjun.C May 22, 2010 at 6:27 pm
THIS IS A MARKET STRATEGY. ONLY THE GSM OPERATORS LIVES WILL BE DEPEND ON MNP