Price fixed, price changed. Auction confirmed, auction delayed. Everything settles down, but it gets messed up again. And, again. If you’ve still not figured out what I’m talking about, too bad! There’s only one epic masterpiece which was witnessed in similar fashion – The 3G Saga.
Suggestions –
- Finance and Telecom Industry – Rs 4,040 crore for 3G and Rs 2,020 crore for WiMax
- While, DoT suggested Rs 2,020 crore and Rs 1,010 crore respectively.
What’s happening now?
The empowered Group of Ministers recently nailed the base price for pan-Indian 3g spectrum. The meeting was attended by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The eGoM has settled down with final base price of Rs. 3,500 crore for 3G spectrum mid-way of both the above suggestion. While the reserve price for broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum has been fixed at Rs 1,750 crore. Only four private operators will get 3G spectrum and there will be three slots for broadband services. The Minister clarified that both BSNL and MTNL, which were already offering 3G services, would have to match the price quoted by the successful bidders in each circle.
After the auction the operators who win the bid will get a chunk of 5 Mhz spectrum and BWA players will get 20 Mhz. Only 1.25 Mhz spectrum has been allotted for one CDMA player. In the 2009-10 budget, Mr. Mukherjee estimated a revenue generation of Rs. 35,000 crore from the auction process. But with only 4 slots available for private operators in each circle (excluding government-owned company BSNL & MTNL who are the only operators offering 3G services) the auction prices could go higher. On revenue generation from the entire auction, the government was likely to earn over Rs. 25,000 crore which is Rs. 10,000 crore less than the estimated revenue. Hence bids in circles like Delhi could go really high since there are only two slots of 3G spectrum available. With atleast 6-7 players eyeing the 3G segment the government need not worry about the Rs. 10,000 less in what was expected. The aggression during the bids would be an answer to that.
Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja said spectrum auction for both 3G and WiMAX services would be completed within 90 days, paving the way for faster and more efficient mobile and Internet services. The eGoM also raised objections to DoT’s suggestion that some 3G spectrum should be kept in balance for auctioning in future for deploying new technologies such as LTE. GSM operators said that the spectrum band for LTE is different from what is being currently auctioned and therefore DoT should auction all available spectrum. As only 1.25 Mhz spectrum has been earmarked for one CDMA player. Both GSM and CDMA players think that the base price was on the higher side and the eGoM should have stuck to the initial figure of Rs 2,020 crore for 3G spectrum. The meeting has certainly been disappointing for them.
Now, lets look at the prospective impact of 3G technology – is it going to be recognised as the evolution of technological outbreaks in India? Well, after a long wait apparently not. But, will 3G service be used since it could power many unique applications? Or will it just be used to have a clear voice on the phone from a customer’s point of view? There were certain predictions over the same, take a look.
And, as far as WATBlog is concerned, we’ll continue to wait and watch as there might be another grievous twist in this tale! Send in your take on this motion picture created by the TRAI and the Government, as the common man is nowhere to be seen.
