Technofriends

As per a notice on the Department of Telecommunication website, the auction for the 3G ( third generation) spectrum for GSM Operators will be held on 7th December. The bids for the same will be invited from 26th October to 13th November 2009.

As of now, only, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) offer 3G services. Companies like Bharti AirTel have already tested their 3G based applications by tying up with some partners and other companies. the auction will be starting on the 7th of December and the Pre-auction price of the 3G spectrum is INR 3,500 crore (US$714 million). The reserve price for WiMAX spectrum has been set at Rs 1,750 crore.

Winners will be required to pay a deposit within 5 days of winning, and the full amount within two weeks.

In my opinion, this is a much awaited news for not only GSM players, but also for product manufacturers who would now be required to roll up their sleaves for the 3G rollout.

By the way, another interesting news from the Indian Telecom space is that, all those mobile handsets which do not have a valid IMEI number will be blocked from 1st December 2009. You can read the entire story in my previous post titled [India] Cellphones Without a Valid IMEI Number Will Be Blocked Starting December 1

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