Govt proposes waiting list for 3G winners

Telcos will be allotted spectrum as and when it is available.

The government is planning to put successful bidders for 3G spectrum in a waiting list for issuing spectrum in nine circles, including Delhi, where there might not be enough space available to accommodate four operators after state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

Under the proposal, the chosen operators will have to pay 25 per cent of their bid price upfront and will be allotted spectrum as and when it is available.

Spectrum, which is a scarce resource, is required by operators to offer services. With the auction of 3G spectrum round the corner, the government is trying to ensure adequate availability at the earliest. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the defence ministry are in talks to expedite vacation of spectrum by the latter. The ministry is likely to release 25 MHz of 3G spectrum and 20 MHz spectrum of 2G spectrum in a phased manner.

A meeting of a Group of Ministers is likely to be held soon to quantify the spectrum available. The addition of over 7 million subscribers every month has made 3G space attractive for existing as well as new players from India as well as abroad.

The auction of 3G spectrum is expected to generate Rs 30,000-40,000 crore for the central exchequer this year, one of the reasons it has caught the fancy of the finance ministry.

The DoT has, therefore, been under pressure from the finance ministry to complete the auction at the earliest. The department had extended the deadline for the auction from December 31 to mid-January next year due to the holidays in between. According to government sources, the finance ministry has asked that the process be completed by the end of December or by early January.

N M Rothschild had been identified as the agency to conduct the e-auction of 3G spectrum. The process for designing the framework of auction is under progress and the auction process is expected to begin by December.