Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
3G auction unlikely to be held by Dec 7
By siliconindia
New Delhi: It is unlikely that the December 7 dateline for the auction of 3G airwaves will be kept. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has been unable to complete even the first step to kick off the auctions as per plan. The 3G airwaves are vital for high-end services such as video conferencing and ultra-fast Internet on mobiles, reports Economic Times.
The DoT was slated to release the Information Memorandum (IM), a key document containing all details of the auction, including availability of radio frequencies across circles, policy changes, the rules of the auction and mode of payment among several other issues - to all potential bidders by September 29, but has failed to do so.
This has resulted in the postponement of the October 8 deadline for submission of questions for pre-bid conference as well. All other timelines, such as those for submission of bids and mock auctions, are also likely to be changed, which may push the December bid plan to early next year.
According to industry executives, it will take about 10 days for telecom companies to study the IM, which will be containing details such as spectrum availability across all circles and the rules for standalone foreign players who wish to participate in the auctions. So, even if released early this week, telecom operators will be unable to seek clarifications by October 8 followed by the pre-bid conference on October 12 as per the earlier schedule.
DoT officials said that the primary reason behind the delay in releasing the IM was that they were yet to map out the availability of 3G airwaves across most circles. The DoT has not been able to complete this task as the Defence Ministry has now refused to adhere to the timeline specified in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Communications Ministry and the armed forces for the vacation of these 3G airwaves. The Defence Ministry conveyed this during a meeting with the officials of the Communications Ministry on September 11.