Pan-India 3G bid hits Rs15,814 crore; Delhi overtakes Mumbai

The government has reason to be pleased with the way 3G spectrum auction is going, as it is now looking at raking in a total of Rs1,00,000 crore from 2G, 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum sales.

At the close of bidding on Saturday, the 31st day of auction, the pan-India bid reached Rs15,814 crore. With this, the government is assured of Rs63,885 crore revenue from the sale of spectrum for 3G mobile services alone. This is much higher than government's original estimates of around Rs40,000 crore from the 3G auction.

Bidding for Delhi overtook that for Mumbai for the first time on Saturday. The bid for 3G spectrum in Delhi on Saturday crossed Rs3,032.85 crore, a nearly tenfold jump over the base price of Rs320 crore, making it the most in demand circle. Mumbai is the next most expensive service area. Its bid stood at Rs2,998.66 crore.

With excess demand for spectrum in only a few circles such as Kolkata, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa, the auction is likely to end early next week. The radio waves are being auctioned across 22 circles and the bidding would be closed once the price is discovered in all the service areas simultaneously.

The government is selling three blocks of spectrum in most of states and four slots in five states of Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Telecommunications minister A Raja wants 2G spectrum prices to be linked to the 3G spectrum, which could mean even better earnings for the government.

After the close of auction for 3G, the government would start the auction for BWA, for which as many as 11 operators are in the fray. The reserve price for BWA spectrum has been fixed at Rs1,750 crore and only two slots of 20 MHz each are on the block.