India 3G auctions to raise US$5.2B, says minister

Source: GSMA

India's Department of Telecoms plans to auction 3G and/or WiMAX spectrum in 20 of India's 22 telecom service areas. The auction has been delayed numerous times but is still expected to take place before year-end. Among the delays has been the Indian government's reported insistence that the original starting price of INR20.20 billion (US$420 million) for the licenses should be doubled. State-owned mobile operators BSNL and MTNL have already begun 3G network rollout, though both will eventually be required to pay a license fee equivalent to the highest price paid in the private auction [shadow pricing]. The auction was originally scheduled to take place in January this year.