The government would allot 3G spectrum to successful bidders on September 1, while broadband wireless access (BWA) airwaves would be allotted to the bid winners immediately.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already allotted a letter of intent (LoI) to the 3G winners, while those to the successful BWA bidders would be given next week, Telecom Secretary P J Thomas told reporters today.
“While the overall proceeds from the auctions for 3G and BWA spectrum at over Rs 1,06,000 crore have exceeded all expectations, an equally important aspect is that the true market value of the spectrum was determined through an efficient and transparent process,” he said.
The commercial launch of 3G mobile services is expected to take place in the first quarter of next year.
In a related development, global investment banking giant NM Rothschild has earned a handsome commission of Rs 30.5 crore from the government for the auction of 3G and BWA. The government had committed 0.115 per cent of the difference of the final bid amount of the highest bidder and the reserve price as commission to Rothschild.
When contacted, a senior DoT official confirmed the commission amount to Rothschild. “The conduct of the auction was perfectly smooth with no implementation issues faced while the auction was going on. This was a result of the meticulous planning and preperation done by the auction team before the start of the process,” Thomas said.
The government had earned over Rs 67,700 crore from the sale of 3G spectrum and over Rs 38,500 crore from BWA. This is for the first time that an e-auction was conducted in India for spectrum.
