Department of telecom (DoT) issued a draft notice inviting applications for the sale of 3G spectrum slots. DOT however informed that only three slots will be available for sale resulting in only three private GSM operators winning a chance to launch 3G mobile services.

BSNL and MTNL are state players with the slot in the new airwave technology leaving only enough spectrum to accommodate only three players. The winning operators will have to pay the entire amount within 15 days of the auction while 25% to paid within 5 days.

The draft Notice Inviting Application reads, "In the case of 3G auction, the Government has decided to assign by auction up to 3 blocks of 5x2 Mhz of paired in the 2.1 Ghz band in each of the 22 circles." The Spectrum will be awarded immediately however the operators will be able to use it by September 1, 2010 having made arrangements for equipments and network tests.

All spectrums will not be available at the same time thus the plan to award the third spectrum later in august is being considered. However the Empowered Group of Ministers are unlikely to accept this arrangement.

The communication ministry earlier planned four slot auctions as the armed forces had agreed to vacate 3G spectrum as per mutually agreed time frames however the DOT draft later said "The armed forces have failed to adhere to an MoU between the communications and defense ministries earlier this year, where they had agreed to vacate 10 MHz of airwaves prior to the auction.

" DOT will release the final version of NIA this week after its ratification by the Communication Ministry. The final date for applications is January 25 with mock auctions scheduled for February 9-10 and final auction is set to be on February 12. As for CDMA operators the draft notice for inviting applications said that the auction will be for only one player per circle while the auction is not to take place in six circles including Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab & Maharashtra. Only three existing players, Tata Teleservices, Sistema Shyam and Reliance Communications are eligible for the auction in the segment.

Telecom operators will be able to offer high-end services, such as ultra-fast internet, video-conferencing, interactive gaming, mobile TV and high-speed downloads of movie and music clips on mobile phones through the 3G technology. This technology was first launched in Japan in the year 2001. Capacity and bid price decisions delayed earlier plans to launch the third generation technology in the country by 2007.