India’s much aviated third generation (3G) mobile services spectrum auction process begins today. According to the latest schedule announced by Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) will be issued today i.e. February 25, with March 19 given as the last date for submitting applications for 3G Spectrum. On March 26, the ownership details of applicants will be published and mock auctions will be held on 5th and 6th of April, 2010.
The 3G auction process was earlier scheduled to begin on Jan 14 but got delayed due to uncertainty over the number of slots and unavailability of the 3G spectrum, now the 3G auction process will starts from today and 9th April 2010 is the final date for the 3G India.
The Govt.of India has decided to allow four private telecom firms for the next generation mobile telephone services (3G) and had made a provision for garnering up to Rs 35,000 crore from the sale of airwaves in the current fiscal. Presently the state operator BSNL and MTNL are the only operators licensed to provide the next generations 3G Mobile and Broadband services in India.
The auction process for 3G will follow the schedule given below:
| Notice inviting applications | 25th February, 2010 |
| Last date of submission of application | 19th March, 2010 |
| Publication of ownership details of applicants | 26th March, 2010 |
| Pre-qualification of bidders | 30th March, 2010 |
| Mock auctions | 5th and 6th April, 2010 |
| Start of 3G auctions | 9th April, 2010 |
| Start of BWA auctions | Two days after the close of 3G auction |
Idrees April 3, 2010 at 2:57 pm
The equation should be,Bharti Airtel,Vodafone Essar,Rcom & TTSL or Idea cellular
Idrees April 3, 2010 at 2:39 pm
As per the department of telecomunicatioms (DOT) all nine bidders for 3g auctions, slated to beign from aprail 9 have qualified for bidding process nine telecom operators, Aircel, Bharti Airtel,Etisalat db,idea cellular,Reliance comunications,s tel,tata teleservices,Videocon telecomunications & vodafone Essar had applied to participate in 3g auctions The govt has fixed Rs 3,500 crore as the reserve price for 3G Spectrum, according to the notice inviting applications issued on feb 25 , five states punjab,Bihar,WB,HP and j&k will have four private companies bidding for 3G Spectrum, other circles inc 4 metros Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata and chennai will have three private players
saket March 12, 2010 at 7:22 pm
the true picture will come on front on 26th march
telecom genius March 12, 2010 at 3:27 pm
vodafone users are eagerly waiting for 3g services. therefore vodafone, in the future, has a good chance of overtaking airtel to become india`s leading mobile service provider. with the 3g spectrum, vodafone is going to make high profits.
ankit February 28, 2010 at 2:09 pm
no use if vodafone get 3g. because of there high cost GPRS plan.
motta February 27, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Not sure how much airtel go along with 3g.. They have made it clear that oversees expansion is on their top priority.. With the zain deal on the corner they will be debt equity ratio will be stretched and they are already at negative credit watch by different agencies.. Would have to watch and see..
Abhishek R February 27, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Airtel, Vodafone for sure. Both these operators & their strategies are for long term business. Others with no 3G spectrum will be doomed slowly.
Rifaz February 26, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Tamilnadu and some parts of south india aircel will get 3g license sure guys they rock here
Rifaz February 26, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Reliance will do it since they have 3g ready network guys so chill
Kalpit February 26, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Airtel – Definitely yes..
‘m waiting ..
Tata – May be..
Idea – Chances are less..
whtever.. Airtel is one of them ! ON TOP OF THEM !
Swaps February 26, 2010 at 9:31 am
@Prabhjyot Singh Jandu
From september 1st, 2010
rajiev February 26, 2010 at 9:28 am
lucky draw
Prabhjyot Singh Jandu February 26, 2010 at 8:58 am
Airtel – SURE!!
Vodafone – SURE !!
Tata DOCOMO and IDEA – I think so. Let’s see.
So, from what Date will we be able to use 3G on Airtel(assuming they are 1 of the 4)? April 9th?
Please clarify.
Prasath J February 25, 2010 at 11:06 pm
All are hopeless fellows.. You can never get cheaper tariff from them… Further Uninor is NOT going to join the auction…
Mahmood Junaid February 25, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Companies should try hard for it bcoz the future of telecoom business is in the hands of data usage as we can see presently in last six months. There are more and more mobile internet users every month. It will help india to achieve the position of fastest growing economy of the world
saket February 25, 2010 at 9:54 pm
let it happen this,
I am praying to god,
other member plz join me,
Let us ask govt(sorry god) to happen 3g in india on 9th april
parag February 25, 2010 at 9:45 pm
good news good news thats great good dicision taken by DOT
pammu February 25, 2010 at 9:27 pm
pan india licence is separate story. every operator need to get a licence to offer any sort of telephone services. an operator though having 3G spectrum cant offer services until licence not acquired to do so.
-one can get licence easily but radio waves i.e. spectrum is scarce. thats why it is being auctioned.
-in 3G one operator requires 5 MHZ spectrum to offer services. govt at this time holds 15 MHZ each in 17 circles and 20 MHZ in remaining 5 corcles.
motta February 25, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I am wrong they are auctioning separately for individual circle.. Yes off-course this makes sense as all operators are not pan India operators..
webly February 25, 2010 at 8:50 pm
At last, something to cheer about for Indians after a long wait !
Jigyasa February 25, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Good news for non bsnl users
motta February 25, 2010 at 8:12 pm
@pammu
I think they are selling(sorry licensing) Pan india licence.. Like 3 pan india spectrum licence and 1 licence for 4 circles.. Is it so or are they doing it circle by circle.. Have not read NIA.. let us know if you know..
MAX February 25, 2010 at 6:54 pm
@Prasath J
And after tat 2012!!! duniya khatam
Prasath J February 25, 2010 at 6:06 pm
So for Indians, April 1 and again April 9 are FOOL’s Day in this year…
pammu February 25, 2010 at 4:08 pm
@MAX
3 slots in 17 circles and 4 slots in remaining 5 circles (chennai included i TN). dude there will be fierce fight in every circle and i dnt think more than one operator will get pan India spectrum.
pammu February 25, 2010 at 4:03 pm
@MAX
Merc February 25, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Operators ARPUs at all time low and Govt budget has lot of deficit, these are the main reasons that are forcing govt to get 3g auction done as soon as possible. This will increase Govt revenue a lot.
TUSHAR SHARMA February 25, 2010 at 3:04 pm
At last time to see some action…
Fahad February 25, 2010 at 3:04 pm
@MAX
dude vodafone and airtel is for sure and dun thnk reliance(gsm) wil make it…
May be aircel or idea…
Aircel has already sold its 2000 towers dude only to make money for becmng the sucsful bidder for 3g …
Reliance will make it in cdma…
Phr b lets hope for better
krish Sriram February 25, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Who is going to win this auction?
Operators who have already invested lot of money in 2G is struggling to make profits and they are claiming that it will take years for them to make a profit out of india.
Only few operators are making profit here and their margin is also getting squeezed. It will be interesting to see who wins the bid.
Operators who are making loss will try to get 3g at any cost so that they can remain cash positive in the longer run as the future is going to be mainly DATA.
Operators who are making profit will try to give a good fight to the loss making one and new operators.
Anyway its good for the government if there is a fierce fight..
Will be interesting to see what airtel does here as they have already spent about 11 billion dollors in African assets ? Will they be interested in 3g and can they pay heavy price ?
Vodafone will definitely try to win the bid and i dont think so cash will be a problem for this company.
Tata and reliance ?? eventhough they are not making good money out of telecom, they have enough cash reserves, need to wait and watch.
All the best operators and all the best government… This should happen without any delay as the customers cant wait any more to enjoy the benefit. Sorry for typing such a long comment….
Sayantan Saha February 25, 2010 at 2:51 pm
The looters are the best quality providers.And the cheaper operator surely mess their 3g network.As they are the 3rd class in 2g.
motta February 25, 2010 at 2:48 pm
this is for gsm operators alone.. There will be four private gsm operators for 3g services(WCDMA/HSPA) 5 Mhz band.. No clarity regarding evdo spectrum auction.. As evdo services could be handled using their current 2g spectrum(as they are doing it now), It may not be auctioned and additional spectrum may be allocated once the allocation policy of 2g spectrum is formulated..
sid February 25, 2010 at 2:15 pm
no it will not drag as company also needed the 3g to come soon ,& money will do all soon. !!!
RDB February 25, 2010 at 2:13 pm
among 4ops, 3 wll b gsm – so airtel, vodafn sure….on pan india basis. 3rd gsm may b reliance, tata docomo, aircel, idea etc …. may b nt pan india basis.!
1 is cdma op – reliance sure… mts may giv it trouble in certain circles !
Ankit February 25, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I don’t think 9th April will be the final date…Its India….they will drag it till 2011….!
Avi H February 25, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Dont think Reliance will make it,..instead Idea will, I think so,………….
Sanjay Bafna February 25, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Yes, 3G Sim work in 2G mobile phone but u will not able to use 3G services like Video call and 3G High Internet with 2G Mobile Phone. For call charges check this post http://telecomtalk.info/bsnl-new-3g-prepaid-plan-in-details/12508/
anandh February 25, 2010 at 1:29 pm
will 3g sim work in 2g mobiles? if yes means what will be the call cost for bsnl?
MAX February 25, 2010 at 1:22 pm
out of 3 Bharti Airtel & Reliance will surely get t 3G spectrum since these companies r ready to pay very huge amount.. on t other side even Aditya birla, TATA & vodafone r also waiting for 3G auctions… so we have to wait & see
but im sure Aircel & uninor cant invest very huge amount on 3G….
sumit gupta February 25, 2010 at 1:10 pm
May be out of 4…. 3 operators are reliance, airtel, vodafone….m dead sure
Idrees February 25, 2010 at 1:10 pm
uninor management has already stated that they wont follow the 3g auctions and wl concentrate more on the 2g network,vodafone,Airtel,reliance and idea may be the final players
sumit gupta February 25, 2010 at 1:04 pm
May be out of 3 operators are reliance, airtel, vodafone….m dead sure
Sajid February 25, 2010 at 1:01 pm
@Avi H
Your list contains Looters, untested & yet 2 launch operator and worst n/w provider . you know who is what.
Avi H February 25, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Hope Vodafone, Airtel, Etisalat, uninor get it…………….
Swaps February 25, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Will 9th April,2010 really be the final date for the 3G auction in India?
Fahad February 25, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Thank God………
Sanjay Bafna February 25, 2010 at 12:45 pm
from successful bidders.
Swaps February 25, 2010 at 12:44 pm
@Avi H
There will be auction aand the top 4 bidders will get the spectrum.
Avi H February 25, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Which 4 operators are allowed????