Government approves 3G spectrum provisional results

The government today approved the provisional results for the 3G spectrum sale that netted it a whopping Rs 67,719 crore bonanza, paving the way for starting the auction of the broadband wireless access (BWA) airwaves from 24 May.

According to official sources, the cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar led committee, today approved the 34-day long auction process, which ended on 19 May. finance secretary Ashok Chawla, telecom secretary PJ Thomas and Planning Commission member secretary Sudha Pillai are the other members of the committee.

The 3G auction process has now finally come to an end with this and all winners including two telecom state-owned telecom firms, BSNL and MTNL are required to pay up within 10 days. According to DoT officials the last date for payment is 31 May.

The auction for the BWA spectrum is set to kick off on 24 May with 11 telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RCom, the Tatas and Qualcom in the fray for two slots of spectrum.

The reserve price has been set at Rs1,750 crore for a pan-India BWA spectrum licence and with the success in 3G spectrum auction the government is now bullish on the BWA auction brining in another revenue windfall. The government has expected only around Rs35,000 crore from the sale of both 3G and BWA spectrum.

In addition to the players mentioned, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Augere Mauritius, Infotel Broadband Services, Internet Service Provider, Tata Communications Internet Services, Tikona Digital Networks and Vodafone Essar will also participate in the BWA auction.

Global investment bank Rothschild along with telecom auction services provider Dot.econ are advisors to the government on the BWA auction.

According to DoT the auction is aimed at fair and transparent award of the spectrum to generate revenue for the public purse, ensuring effective competition and getting a market-determined price for the spectrum.