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| EGoM on 3G auction to meet today |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Nov 19, 2009, 01:02 IST |
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The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on the auction of third generation (3G) spectrum will meet tomorrow to discuss the vacation of spectrum by defence forces.
 The EGoM is headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and includes Communications and IT Minister A Raja, Defence Minister A K Antony and Home Affairs Minister P Chidambaram, among others.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) and the defence ministry have been unable to resolve the controversy surrounding the vacation of spectrum. DoT and the defence ministry had earlier signed an agreement which called on the defence services to vacate 20 MHz of 3G spectrum by December this year.
However, the defence ministry later said the vacation would be possible by around June next year, as they needed to test the alternative fibre-optic network.
If the defence forces are able to vacate the spectrum by December 8, DoT would go ahead with auction of all the four slots. Else, only available spectrum would be auctioned.
The auction for 3G spectrum is slated for January 14 next year, but there is still no clarity on the number of slots that would be auctioned and the availability of spectrum. There has been a shortage of 3G spectrum in some circles.
In the information memorandum, DoT said, in Delhi and Gujarat circles, there were only two 3G slots available for auction. While in Rajasthan and the North-East circles, there was no slot available for auction. There are three slots available in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West), while only one in West Bengal.
The finance ministry is keen to conduct 3G auctions by January 2010. The government expects to garner revenues of about Rs 35,000 crore from the 3G auction within the current financial year. DoT had kick-started the process of the 3G auction with the pre-bid conference on November 16.
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