Meet on 3G auction proves a damp squib; clarifies nothing

Not surprisingly, the pre-bid conference on third generation telecom services, held in Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, proved a rather farcical affair, with the Department of Telecommunications failing to clarify most of the policy related queries raised by prospective bidders.

Instead, DoT told them to come back in December for details.

The conference was clearly a mere eyewash, as operators sought more clarity on a number of issues including 2G spectrum policy, availability of four slots in all circles, allocation of back-haul spectrum and allowing broadband operators to offer voice services.

Both DoT and the government have said that the 3G and WiMax auction will be completed this month, with 14 February as the latest deadline. But neither DoT nor the ministry of information and telecommunications had answers to a number of issues, since they were still being discussed between various ministries. The DoT officials deflected most of the questions by saying that answers would be provided later on its website.

''The pre-bid conference was to provide clarity. All that happened was that the government used the occasion to convey that further clarity will be provided next month,'' an unnamed executive with one of India's biggest phone companies told The Economic Times.

A key issue was whether the auction woud be conducted for all the four slots in every telecom circle or only for those slots where spectrum was available.