Videocon pulls out bid for CDMA spectrum

Videocon that had applied for both GSM and CDMA spectrum in the upcoming auction has pulled out its bid for the CDMA. The company was announced as pre-qualifier in the bidding process on October 29.

In 2008, the company had received pan-India 2G spectrum for Rs 1,658 crore.

With this, Tata Teleservices becomes the only operator to bid for the upcoming auction in CDMA.

Videocon chairman V N Dhoot could not be reached for comments despite repeated calls.

Videocon has submitted Rs 220 crore as EMD, which could have given them the potential to take seven to eight category B and C circles.

Tata has submitted Rs 22.5 crore that would match the number of points it requires to win the three category C circles, which were cancelled by Supreme Court.

The 2G spectrum auction will take place on November 12.

It comes at a time when MTS, another CDMA operator, has stayed out of bidding and has been fighting at the Supreme Court, challenging cancellation of their licences.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) will announce the final list of bidders on November 6, a mock auction will follow on November 7 and 8.

Initially, five operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Telewings and Videocon — has applied for GSM spectrum auction, while two operators — Tata Teleservices and Videocon had applied for CDMA. Tata Teleservices has bid for only 3.24% of its bidding potential.