Day 14: Mumbai pips Delhi with highest 3G bid price

The government would earn a minimum of Rs 33,500 crore from the auction of 3G telecom spectrum, with the pan-India licence reaching a bid of about Rs 8,382.48 crore on Day 14, up by over 139 per cent from a base price of Rs 3,500 crore.

The highest bid price for Mumbai reached Rs 1,252.32 crore, over thrice its base price of Rs 320 crore. Delhi’s highest bid was Rs 1,209.66 crore.

Both Mumbai and Delhi circles have three slots available for auction. On the 14th day, Mumbai had two bidders, while Delhi had three.

The government has budgeted a target of Rs 35,000 crore from the auctions of 3G and Broadband Wireless access (BWA), of which Rs 30,000 crore is expected to come from 3G. There are three slots for 3G auction in 17 circles, while in the rest of the five circles, four slots are available. BWA auction would start after two days of the close of 3G auction.

Communications and IT Minister A Raja in Parliament last week had said the government’s revenues from the auction might go up to Rs 50,000 crore. The 3G auction started on April 9 and is conducted from Monday to Saturday, except Sunday and national holidays.

A total of 82 rounds were completed till the 14th day. It is expected that the 3G auctions will take another week to complete. Six existing major telecom service providers — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Aircel — are vying for 3G spectrum in all the 22 circles.