Radio frequency auction for 3G telecom services likely to be deferred

September 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Bharti Airtel, the country's largest telecom operator in terms of subscribers, Wednesday said it will launch third generation (3G) mobile telephony services by October 2010. "If everything goes well on time with regard to spectrum auction, by February or March we should receive spectrum allocation, Bharti Airtel chief executive Manoj Kohli told reporters on the sidelines of a telecom conference here.

March 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Thursday named External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee - seen as the man for all reasons - as the head of a group of ministers (GoM) formed to suggest the base price for third generation (3G) radio spectrum, giving hope that the auction may still take place before elections. The GoM will not only decide the minimum bid amount for the scarce radio frequency, but also the number of players who can offer the next generation mobile phone services in each circle, officials said.

July 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The high-powered ministerial group, set up to decide on issues related with the auction of frequency spectrum for third generation telecom services, is scheduled to meet here for the first time later Friday. The mandate of the empowered group, which has been set up under Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is to decide the base price for the spectrum auction and the number of operators to be allowed in each telecom circle for offering third generation, or 3G, services.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - No consensus has been reached between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the finance ministry on the reserve price for third generation (3G) radio waves auction, Communications Minister A. Raja said here Tuesday.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will announce the base price for the much-awaited auctions of third generation (3G) radio waves within a week, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said here Friday.

January 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday sought a response from the government on auctioning of radio frequency for next generation mobile services, better known as 3G. A division bench headed by the Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to file a response by Jan 24.

June 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - No consensus has been reached between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the finance ministry on the reserve price for third generation (3G) radio waves auction, Communications Minister A. Raja said here Tuesday.

February 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The communications ministry may expect the auction of scarce 3G spectrum to fetch Rs.30,000-Rs.40,000 crore ($6-8 billion), but the interim budget for 2009-10 has projected no more than Rs.20,000 crore ($4 billion) on that count. 'The budget estimates for 2009-10 include a sum of Rs.20,000 crore as the expected revenue from auction of 3G spectrum,' says the receipts budget tabled Monday by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

December 28th, 2008 NEW DELHI - The auction of third generation (3G) radio frequencies slated for Jan 16 have been delayed, and may now be held Jan 30. 'The auctions have been delayed as the cabinet is yet to approve some of the key proposals regarding the auctions,' a Department of Telecom (DoT) official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

August 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India raised reserve prices for auctions of third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) radio spectrum by nearly three-quarters on Thursday. Union Telecommunication Minister A.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, A Raja has said that the prospects of the further lowering of telephone tariff in India are imminent in the future. He said this while assuming his charge of the ministry here on Monday.

March 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It is unlikely that auction of the spectrum for third generation (3G) telecommunication applications will take place before the Lok Sabha elections, telecom secretary Siddharth Behura said Wednesday. 'We cannot talk about 3G spectrum auctions since it is election time and nothing seems to be feasibe currently,' Behura told reporters on the sidelines of 17th Convergence India conference here.

July 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The wait for third generation (3G) telecom services in the country has got longer as the first meeting of a key ministry panel, set up to take decision on the pricing of 3G auctions, has been postponed. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was scheduled to meet July 31.

July 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The growth of India's mobile telephone industry can suffer if the government continues to link the allocation of radio spectrum for service providers to the auction of this scarce resource for third generation (3G) services, experts warn. They also maintain that the policy to allocate additional airwaves based on the number of subscribers with each service provider is outdated and that a pragmatic policy must be unveiled to ensure the robust growth of the Indian telecom industry.

December 22nd, 2008 NEW DELHI - Successful bidders for spectrum allocation for third generation (3G) telecom services will also be eligible for second generation (2G) spectrum space, the government said here Tuesday. 'Successful 3G bidders will be eligible for acquiring second generation (2G) spectrum as well,' Member (Finance) of Telecom Commission R.