Nine companies registered their interest in bidding for Indian 3G spectrum ahead of the deadline last Friday, though foreign players were notable by their absence. According to a report in India’s Business Standard newspaper, existing operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, STel, Etisalat and Videocon all submitted applications ahead of the 19 March deadline. Bharti, Reliance, Vodafone and Idea were also among the 11 companies which filed separate applications for the so-called Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum, which is being auctioned off alongside the 3G bandwidth. Several foreign players – including US-based AT&T and Verizon, and Australia’s Telstra – had been tipped to enter the fray but experts say that the high-cost of participation may have put them off. “There was an incremental burden on the new foreign entrants — of acquiring a unified access service license (UASL) for INR1,650 crore, apart from bidding in the 3G auction,” said Prashant Singhal, a telecom analyst at Ernst & Young. “[This] would have increased the cost substantially.” Other analysts suggest that some foreign players may be looking to partner with the new 3G licensees at a later date.

India’s Department of Telecommunications has said that it will auction three slots of 3G spectrum in 17 telecom service areas – and four in the remaining five zones – when the auctions begin on 9 April. India hopes to raise INR350 billion (US$7.6 billion) from the auctions and has fixed a base price of INR35 billion (US$760 million) for nationwide spectrum. However, analysts predict that high demand for spectrum could see firms required to spend between US$1 billion and US$1.5 billion to secure a nationwide 3G footprint. Some smaller players – notably Telenor’s Uninor – have already ruled themselves out of the auction process.

APPLICANTS FOR 3G AUCTION 

 1. Aircel Ltd
 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd
 3. Etisalat DB Telecom India Pvt Ltd
 4. Idea Cellular Ltd
 5. Reliance Telecom Ltd
 6. S Tel Pvt Ltd BTEL.BH
 7. Tata Teleservices Ltd
 8. Vodafone Essar Ltd
 9. Videocon Telecommunications Ltd

APPLICANTS FOR BWA AUCTION

 1. Aircel Ltd
 2. Augere (Mauritius) Ltd
 3. Bharti AirteL Ltd
 4. Idea Cellular Ltd
 5. Infotel Broadband Services Pvt Ltd
 6. Qualcomm Inc
 7. Reliance WiMax Ltd
 8. Spice Internet Service Provider Pvt Ltd
 9. Tata Communications Internet Services Ltd
 10.Tikona Digital Networks Pvt Ltd
 11.Vodafone Essar Ltd