A quick update: PTI reports that the last date for accepting applications for the 3G Auction has been oushed forward till Jan 20th, apparently on account of not enough applications from foreign operators. However, there is no update yet on the Department of Telecoms official auction index, which was last updated on December 24th.
Frankly, the 3G auction is over-hyped and it’s more likely to be seen as a means of launching new services or acquiring spectrum for voice, than 3G services alone. Given the global financial crisis, it’s not likely many operators will look to raise money for investing in the 3G auction and/or rollout, unless they’re sitting on a significant amount of cash. We don’t expect things to improve much by the 20th.
We’ll update this post if there is an update. However, IF the timetable is changed, it is likely to be as follows:
|
Event |
Original Date |
New Date* |
|
Final date for applications |
5-Jan |
20-Jan |
|
Publication of ownership details of Applicants |
6-Jan |
21-Jan |
|
Bidder Ownership Compliance Certificate |
8-Jan |
23-Jan |
|
Pre-Qualification of Bidders |
9-Jan |
24-Jan |
|
Mock Auction |
12-13 Jan |
27-28 Jan |
|
Start of 3G Auction |
16-Jan |
31-Jan |
|
Start of BWA Auction |
2 days from the day of close of the 3G Auction |
|
* – unconfirmed
