The Government of India will start allocation of 3G spectrum to telecom companies that bid the highest in the May 2010 3G auction.
Earlier the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had set the deadline to September 1 for allocation of 3G spectrum.The defence forces had already released two slots of 3G spectrum before the auction.
Leading Mobile Service operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications (RCOM), Aircel, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, and Stel had bagged the 3G spectrum. All the 3G spectrum winners are confident that if the spectrum is handed over to them by September, they can roll out services by the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011.
The GSM biggies Vodafone Essar, Bharti Airtel and dual technology operator Reliance Communications (Rcom) bagged the lucrative Delhi and Mumbai circles and hope to get good 3G subscriber base initially with the commercial launch in both circles.
Largest GSM service operator Bharti Airtel, which had pan-India 3G ambitions, had to settle for just for 13 telecom circles along with Reliance Communications and Aircel.While the Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) have given up Delhi, Mumbai and taken 3 category A and 6 category B circles.
