Bharti Airtel bids for 3G auction

Bharti Airtel bids for 3G auctionIndia's largest private telecom company Bharti Airtel has submitted its bid for the 3G Spectrum auction to the Government of India and Department of Telecom.

The auction for three slots of 3G spectrum will start from 9th of April. The 3G auction will be carried out in all its 22 circles across the country. In few states, four slots are also available.

According to the Notice Inviting Applications for 3G spectrum auction, the reserve price has been fixed at Rs 3,500 crore for the pan-India spectrum.

Various other telecom firms of India including Vodafone-Essar, Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Reliance Communication are also likely to participate in this auction with their corresponding bid. The government is looking to fetch an amount of around USD 7.7 billion from the combined auction of 3G and Broadband Wireless Access.

According to sources, Bharti is expected bid for the pan-India spectrum. Bharti has anticipated that it can succeed in the auction and will able to offer 3G services on a commercial basis in all over India from September 1, 2010.