3G Auction for private telecom operators delayed

IDG News Service — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:05:18 -0800

The auction for 3G spectrums to be held for private telecom operators has been postponed for almost a month. Earlier, the auction was supposed to be held on January 15th but now in an announcement made by the Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja, that date has been pushed back to 9th February. The official memorandum on the auction process will be released on December 8th and operators can finalize their decisions to bid by December 31st.

The minister further revealed that the North-East and Rajasthan would not be able to avail of 3G services because of unavailability of spectrums. However, among other regions, West Bengal will get two operators, Delhi and Gujarat will get three operators each and Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will get four operators. All other circles will be getting five operators.