Govt to auction 3G spectrum on Jan 15

New Delhi, Dec 12: The government on Friday, Dec 12 called for a pre-bid conference with the prospective private bidders of 3G spectrum auction on Dec 23. It has announced that the online auction will take place on Jan 15, 2009. This announcement came a day after the state-run MTNL launched 3G service 'Jadoo'.

Sidhharth Behura, the Telecom Secretary said, "We have called the pre-bid conference on Dec 23 but some people have asked for a postponement of this date, maybe due to clarification or holiday session... But as of now, this is the plan. The e-auction date is January 15." The all-India reserve price of a 3G licence is Rs 2,020 crore. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the service on Thursday, Dec 11.

But private players, including foreign ones, will have to bid for spectrum to be able to launch the service. BSNL and MTNL, who have been allotted one slot of spectrum each, will have to match the highest bidder in their respective circles.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)