3G auction to start on December 7th

By siliconindia   |   Monday, 14 September 2009, 21:10 IST   |    2 Comments
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3G auction to start on December 7th
Bangalore: The auction of 3G telecom license is slated to start on December 7th, and two days after the closing of this auction, the EVDO (CDMA version of 3G) or broadband wireless license auction will begin. The deadline for submission of questions for the pre-bid conference is October 8, 2009, and the pre-bid conference is scheduled to be held on October 12. The final date for submitting applications has been set for November 13, and pre-qualification of bidders is on November 27th. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will be issuing a revised information memorandum on September 29, under which applicants will have to provide ownership details as well as compliance certificates to ensure smooth bidding. The successful bidders will have to make all payments by the end of December. The government had promised to hold the 3G auction within 90 days of a decision by an empowered group of ministers (E-GoM) led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. However, going by the government's earlier record of deferring the auction process several times, another delay cannot be ruled out. Recently, the reserve price for pan-India 3G was fixed at 3500 crore and that for broadband wireless at 1750 crore. The prices fixed is much higher than the DoT recommendations. A mock auction is likely to be held on December 3 and 4.