Uncertainty drove up 3G sale price: Bharti official

Policy uncertainty drove up prices in the 3G mobile licence spectrum auction, apart from being the fact that it's a scarce resource, a top Bharti official said.

Policy uncertainty drove up prices in the 3G mobile licence spectrum auction, apart from being the fact that it's a scarce resource, a top Bharti official said.

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These two factors drove up prices on the "higher side", Rajan Bharti Mittal, Bharti Enterprises' Vice-Chairman & Managing Director & Group Lead Director of Bharti's Wholesale and Retail Business, told reporters here today in response to questions.

Asked to comment on "uncertainty" that he referred to, he said: "There is (are) only three slots today...when is the next slot going to come...when will the release happen...when more spectrum will happen...will we get more spectrum on 2G. I think these are the issues still to be addressed".

On the industry concern of recouping the investment made on bagging 3G licence, Mittal said: "Allow us to roll out on 3G, then you can talk about it".

The auction concluded on Wednesday generating a revenue of Rs 67,710 crore for the UPA government, almost twice the expected amount.