The department of telecommunications (DoT) on Friday invited bids for auctioning of one block of 5 megahertz (MHz) of 3G spectrum in 17 of 22 telecom circles.
The DoT has however not announced any separate timeline for the 3G auction process which means that interested companies will have to submit application to bid for this spectrum by February 16.
In the latest amendment to Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for spectrum auction set to start from March 4, the DoT has said that only one entity will be able to win 3G spectrum in one service area.
The DoT has also not announced any pre-bid session for the auction of 3G spectrum as was demanded by telecom sector players on January 13 when the session was held for rest of the spectrum bands namely 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz band.
However, companies have opportunity to approach DoT and seek clarifications by February 2.
At least one block of 5 MHz has been put for auction in all service areas except Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. Atleast 85 megahertz (MHz) of 2100 MHz band of 3G spectrum is coming up for auction in 17 of the 22 telecom circles.
The pan-India base price per megahertz of 2100 MHz band of 3G spectrum has been fixed at Rs 3,705 crore.
The government expects to garner Rs 17,555 crore — Rs 5,793 crore is expected to be realized in the current financial year – from auctioning of 3G airwaves.The Union Cabinet on Wednesday fixed the auction price of 2100 megahertz of 3G spectrum band at Rs 3705 crore per megahertz, which is 36% higher than the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommended auction price of Rs 2,720 crore per megahertz.
