Mobile Roundup: 3G Auction Process; Voda-Essar Problem? BSNL; Rural

— Quippo To Raise $185 Million: Telecom Infrastructure firm Quippo Telecom is raising $185 Million from Qatar’s Oman Investment Fund, IDFC Private Equity, DB Zwirn, Indivest and Quippo Infrastructure. Quippo Telecom is backed by Quippo Infrastructure, promoted by the SREI group, which had bought Spice Communications tower business for Rs. 500 Crores last year. Details at ET
— 3G Spectrum Auction Process Finalized by September 30th: So the auction is supposed to be completed by December, and the DoT will finalize the auction process by September 30th, reports the Hindu. An independent agency will conduct the auction. MTNL already has one slot each in Delhi and Mumbai, and BSNL in each circle across the country.
— Voda-Essar Tiff? Looks like not all is hunky-dory between Vodafone and Essar, expectedly, after Essar group company Loop Telecom (earlier Shippingstop.com) got a pan India license. Loop is in talks with foreign telcos for a partnership. Loop is a subsidiary of BPL Mobile, in which Essar owns 9.9 percent stake. There also appears to be some issue over BPL Mobile, which was supposed to be merged with Vodafone Essar: more at ET.
— BSNL Plans Both 3G & WiMax: BSNL will launch both WiMax and 3G: 3G will target the urban population, while WiMax will be used for rural areas, where wireline infrastructure is sparse. The 3G rollout will be in phases, with 3G handsets bundled.
— DoT To Invite Bids For Rural Rollout: The project involves a rollout of 11000 towers, with around 8000 towers set up in the first phase. More here