BackBharti applies for 3G mobile spectrum bid
Bharti applies for 3G mobile spectrum bid
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New Delhi: Bharti Airtel on Thursday submitted its bid for 3G spectrum, auction for which starts from 9 April.
According to the schedule, Friday is the last day for putting in applications to participate in the auction.
No. 2 operator Reliance Communications also said it would shortly apply to bid for the spectrum in all the zones.
The government is selling three slot of spectrum across the nation with the exception of a few states where four slots will be on offer. The reserve price for pan-India spectrum has been fixed at Rs3,500 crore.
According to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for 3G spectrum auction, of the 22 circles only five states -- Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir -- will have four private players.
The 3G mobile services will allow high-speed content download and broadband services. When contacted, Bharti officials confirmed that an application has been put in for participating in the forthcoming 3G spectrum auction.
The successful bidders would be allowed to offer 3G services on commercial basis from 1 September 2010.
The auction of spectrum has been postponed several times as among other things there was indecisiveness over the availability of spectrum and the number of operators to be allowed in each circle.
The department of telecom (DoT) was at loggerheads with the defence ministry over the latter’s reluctance to vacate the designated spectrum (air waves) for commercial use.
As per DoT’s schedule, last date for submission of applications is 19 March. The mock auction will take place on 5 April and 6, followed by the final auction on 9 April 2010.
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