The government of India has announced today that its auction of 3G licenses has been moved to April 9, after three postponements. It plans to release a notice inviting applications tomorrow, and will be receiving submissions until March 19. The auction of spectrum for BWA (broadband wireless access) including WiMax will begin two days after the 3G auction is complete.
The online auction for these licenses was first scheduled to be held in January last year, but was delayed because of disagreement between the country’s finance and telecommunications ministries over the minimum price for the bids.
The auction was further delayed as the defense ministry is reported to have said that it was unable to release spectrum soon enough for use by the 3G licensees.
The government said last year that it plans to raise 250 billion Indian rupees (US$5.4 billion) as the minimum revenue from the auction of the 3G and BWA licenses in the country. Four slots in each service area were to be auctioned, with a fifth slot reserved for two government-run companies.
The two companies — Bharat Sanchar Nigam, and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam — already offer 3G services in the country.
Source: PC World.
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