The Hindu Business Line : Telecom players want 3G auction on time

Our Bureau New Delhi, Jan. 2 The GSM operators have told the Government that the 3G roll out plans of State-owned BSNL and MTNL should also be put on hold if there is any further delay in conducting the auctions.

Both the PSUs have been given spectrum already and are gearing up for launching its 3G mobile services by February.

Mr T. V. Ramachandran, Director General, Cellular Operator’s Association of India, said, “As it is the two operators are getting a 6-month lead over the private players and any further delay will give them an unfair advantage. The Government should not postpone the 3G auctions. All existing GSM operators are keen to participate in it.”

The Department of Telecom had earlier announced that it will conduct the auction starting January 16. However, it has now been changed to January 30 on the ground that certain important decisions required Cabinet ratification.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has suggested the doubling of the base price from Rs 2,020 crore to Rs 4,040 crore for 3G spectrum.

CCEA meeting

Senior DoT officials said that a decision on the new proposal from the Finance Ministry will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is expected to meet on January 8. Sources said that DoT is gearing up for conducting the auction on January 30 unless the Cabinet decides otherwise.

Barring a few companies, most of the industry wants the auction to take place without any further delay.

Mr Parag Kar, Senior Director, Government Affairs, Qualcomm, India and South Asia, said, “Rolling out 3G is executing the next phase of telecom reforms and hence the urgency. Without 3G, consumers will be deprived of better voice quality and value-added services such as mobile broadband, entertainment, commerce, and livelihood services that 3G will offer. 3G will enable operators in arresting falling average revenue per user, decongest 2G networks, and help increase broadband tele-density."

Flexi bizs models

To partly address the issue of credit crunch due to the economic slowdown, equipment vendors such as Nokia Siemens and Ericsson are offering flexible business models to operators in a bid to cut down on the capital expenditure on setting up a 3G network.

“We are already in discussions with operators in formulating innovative business models. Our efforts are to reduce the capital expense as much as we can. 3G auctions should be completed at the earliest if the Government wants to achieve its broadband targets,” said Mr Randeep Raina, Head 3G India, Nokia Siemens India.

Mr P. Balaji, Vice-President, Ericsson India, said, “India will miss out on the advantages of 3G such as e-medicine and e-education. 3G will also boost the software sector as a whole host of applications will have to be developed.”