3G spectrum: Govt's revenue crosses Rs 45K cr on Day 23

The revenue from sale of 3G spectrum crossed the Rs 45,000-crore mark as the pan-India bid for radio waves rose to Rs 11,327 crore on Day 23 of the auction today.

The revenue from sale of 3G spectrum crossed the Rs 45,000-crore mark as the pan-India bid for radio waves rose to Rs 11,327 crore on Day 23 of the auction on Thursday.

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At this all-India bid, the government is assured of at least Rs 45,692 crore against an estimated revenue of Rs 35,000 crore from sale of spectrum for both 3G as well as broadband wireless access (BWA) services.

Auction for BWA spectrum will start only two days after the close of sale for 3G radio waves.

Among the individual circles, Mumbai's bid rose to Rs 1,986 crore and that of Delhi to Rs 1,920 crore with renewed demand from the operators.

At the end of 132 rounds and 23 days of auction, there was excess demand for both these circles indicating the bid is set to rise further.

Sources in the Department of Telecom (DoT) said that auction should end in few more days after the all-India price is discovered as well as for individual service areas.

With all leading mobile operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea, RCom and Tatas, among others, being in the fray for procuring spectrum for pan-India operations, the bid will continue to rise in the coming days.

Telecom Minister A Raja had stated earlier that the government may garner around Rs 50,000-55,000 crore by selling 3G airwaves and BWA spectrum.

In all, nine mobile operators are up against each other for spectrum for 3G services, which allows subscribers to download hi-speed data and stream videos on mobile phones. The radio waves are being auctioned across 22 circles.