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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov. 4 The Minister for Communications and IT, Mr A. Raja, on Tuesday said that there was little impact of the global economic slowdown on the Indian telecom sector and, therefore, the process of allotment of spectrum for 3G would be completed by January 2009.

Some of the existing operators had earlier said the Government should postpone the auction given the difficulty in raising funds.

Speaking on the sidelines of an industry event organised by FICCI, Mr Raja said, “3G auction is on schedule. That is why I am going to meet the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister today to discuss the related issues. Although the global economy is currently passing through a phase of recession, its impact has been comparatively less on the telecom sector.”

Mr Raja was, however, non-committal on how much the Government was expecting to earn from the auction. “Beyond the reserve price of 3G spectrum, I am not an astrologer to know beforehand what the realisation would be. Once the auction process is over, only then will we know how much the Government will get.”

In August, the Minister had said that the Government expected Rs 30,000-40,000 crore from the 3G and WiMax auctions.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister gave his nod for the auction during the meeting with Mr Raja later in the day.

According to the telecom regulator, telecom companies in the US, France, Italy and the UK are keen on bidding for the 3G spectrum. India is expected to have in excess of 70 million 3G mobile users by 2012.

More Stories on : Telecommunications

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