Bharti’s Mittal again slams 3G auction format

With no telecom operator managing to get a pan-India licence in the recently concluded 3G auction because of high bidding for spectrum, Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal yesterday once again criticised the auction design, saying it created an artificial scarcity.

"Take the example of Delhi itself, or Mumbai,'' said the Bharti Group chairman. ''The amount for spectrum that has been charged is close to Rs3,500 crore each ... just to recover license fees and input cost, it works out to Rs700-900 per month."

The government has earned over Rs67,700 crore from the sale of 3G spectrum, with pan-India bidding touching Rs16,750 crore. Bharti paid Rs12.295.46 crore, the most among operators, for 3G spectrum in 13 circles, including Delhi and Mumbai.

To a question on operators initially welcoming the auction process, but later opposing it after bid prices touched sky high, Mittal said "we welcomed the auction process for giving spectrum out. The auction design we never welcomed. Given that the auction will close when all 22 circles close, to my mind the design lends itself to mischief by some of the non-serious players," he said.

Global consultants N M Rothschild was the lead auctioneer, contracted by the Department of Telecom (DoT).

Soon after the end of the 34-day auction process for 3G spectrum, Bharti had said, "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.''