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India's 3G and BWA/WiMAX auction now sheduled for Jan 2010; BJP leader calls for IT Minister Raja to resign
Long-awaited spectrum auction further delayed despite intense pressure from finance minister.
India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) this weekend announced plans to auction 3G licences in January 2010, confirming earlier speculation that the government is unlikely to meet its 7 December deadline.
The new schedule published on Saturday as part of a revised Information Memorandum (IM) revealed that the auction is due to open on 14 January, while bidding for frequencies in the 800-MHz band and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum is due to start two days after the 3G auction closes.
The auction was due to begin on 7 December under the schedule announced by the DoT in September; however, speculation that the process was set for further delay was sparked when the revised IM – originally due to be published on 29 September – failed to materialise.
The new schedule announced on Saturday is still subject to change despite the IM's release.
"The government reserves the right to determine the overall timetable of the auctions or to amend it from time to time," said the DoT.
After years of delays the regulator has been coming under mounting pressure to press on with India's 3G auction.
The DoT blamed the most recent hold up on the failure of the country's defence forces to vacate airwaves needed for 3G services. The defence ministry has so far refused to release the spectrum until it has tested an alternative backbone network that is currently being built by state-run operator BSNL.
The ongoing delays last week prompted India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to call on the DoT to quickly resolve any outstanding issues and press ahead with the auction before the end of the year.
He warned in a strongly-worded letter to telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja that further delays would send mixed signals to potential investors and jeopardise the 300 billion rupees ($6.45 billion) of revenue that the 3G auction stands to generate.
Although the publication of the revised IM signals the process is moving ahead, timing the auction to take place shortly after the Christmas period could prove problematic for some of the foreign telcos planning to participate; for instance, the final date for applications is 21 December.
http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=450172
From the latest Auction memorandum:
Roll-out obligations for BWA Spectrum- Metro service area
The licensee to whom the spectrum is allocated shall be required to provide coverage
in at least 90% of the service area, street coverage in the relevant service area, within
five years of the Effective Date.
Category A, B and C service areas
-The licensee to whom the spectrum is allocated shall ensure that at least 50% of the
rural SDCAs are covered within five years of the Effective Date.
-The Effective Date shall be the later of the date when the spectrum is allocated and
the date when the UAS licence or the ISP-category ‘A’ licence, as applicable, is
granted to the operator.
-If the licensee does not achieve its roll out obligations, its spectrum assignment shall
be withdrawn.
http://www.dot.gov.in/as/Auction%20of%20Spectrum%20for3G%20&%20...
Raja should quit, says BJP's Jaitley
BJP leader Arun Jaitley has demanded that Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja should not stay in office in the interest of a fair investigation into “the biggest scandal since Independence”.
The “value” of the 2G spectrum allocation scandal was no longer a matter of conjecture. It was simple arithmetic. Each of the nine licences was allotted to operators for roughly Rs. 1,650 crore, and some almost immediately sold 60 to 70 per cent equity in their companies for Rs. 4,500 crore to Rs. 9,000 crore, Mr. Jaitley said.
Referring to the recent comments made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the CBI raids on offices of the Telecommunications Department, he said: “It was unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to comment on the innocence of the Minister even while investigations are on … We have to see whether the Prime Minister allows a fair investigation and takes it to its logical conclusion … His concern for probity is under trial.”
Mr. Jaitley, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said the Minister had publicly stated that he kept the Prime Minister informed about the policy decisions on 2G spectrum allotment. It was now for the government to say who was guilty and the investigations should unearth the full story.
Mr. Jaitley’s apprehension was that the raids would not be allowed to reach the top, but would point accusing fingers at some civil servants. On policy matters involving thousands of crores of rupees, it was unthinkable that any decision would be taken by civil servants. Propriety demanded that while investigations were on, the Minister should not be in office, the BJP leader said.
The fact that while allocating 3G spectrum the government was now talking about taking the auction route was itself an indication that the earlier approach was wrong and not transparent, he said.
Applications were invited for allocating telecom licences and 2G spectrum with the last date being October 1, 2007. However, the cut-off date was then advanced to September 25 and all applications received after September 25 were declared invalid. A number of real estate companies with no infrastructure or experience in telecom were the beneficiaries. Having secured the spectrum and licences, they sold 60-70 per cent of their equity to other companies to set up joint venture companies. Spending Rs. 1,650 crore on the licence, they collected, in some instances, Rs. 9,000 crore.
Asked about Mumbai Juhu Centaur Hotel disinvestment during the NDA regime — the hotel was sold by the government for a certain sum and then the company buying it re-sold it for a far higher sum within months — Mr. Jaitley said: “The case was referred to the CBI by the UPA government. Nothing was found and it was closed.”
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/27/stories/2009102761711200.htm
Opinion: We are too worn out and profoundly disappointed to comment on this recent turn of events in India. Our previous editorials speak for themselves! Our last post hinted that Mr. Raja had become "the boy who cried wolf" as no one believes him any more as a result of the never ending auction postponements. What now?
India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) this weekend announced plans to auction 3G licences in January 2010, confirming earlier speculation that the government is unlikely to meet its 7 December deadline.
The new schedule published on Saturday as part of a revised Information Memorandum (IM) revealed that the auction is due to open on 14 January, while bidding for frequencies in the 800-MHz band and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum is due to start two days after the 3G auction closes.
The auction was due to begin on 7 December under the schedule announced by the DoT in September; however, speculation that the process was set for further delay was sparked when the revised IM – originally due to be published on 29 September – failed to materialise.
The new schedule announced on Saturday is still subject to change despite the IM's release.
"The government reserves the right to determine the overall timetable of the auctions or to amend it from time to time," said the DoT.
After years of delays the regulator has been coming under mounting pressure to press on with India's 3G auction.
The DoT blamed the most recent hold up on the failure of the country's defence forces to vacate airwaves needed for 3G services. The defence ministry has so far refused to release the spectrum until it has tested an alternative backbone network that is currently being built by state-run operator BSNL.
The ongoing delays last week prompted India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to call on the DoT to quickly resolve any outstanding issues and press ahead with the auction before the end of the year.
He warned in a strongly-worded letter to telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja that further delays would send mixed signals to potential investors and jeopardise the 300 billion rupees ($6.45 billion) of revenue that the 3G auction stands to generate.
Although the publication of the revised IM signals the process is moving ahead, timing the auction to take place shortly after the Christmas period could prove problematic for some of the foreign telcos planning to participate; for instance, the final date for applications is 21 December.
http://www.totaltele.com/view.aspx?ID=450172
From the latest Auction memorandum:
Roll-out obligations for BWA Spectrum- Metro service area
The licensee to whom the spectrum is allocated shall be required to provide coverage
in at least 90% of the service area, street coverage in the relevant service area, within
five years of the Effective Date.
Category A, B and C service areas
-The licensee to whom the spectrum is allocated shall ensure that at least 50% of the
rural SDCAs are covered within five years of the Effective Date.
-The Effective Date shall be the later of the date when the spectrum is allocated and
the date when the UAS licence or the ISP-category ‘A’ licence, as applicable, is
granted to the operator.
-If the licensee does not achieve its roll out obligations, its spectrum assignment shall
be withdrawn.
http://www.dot.gov.in/as/Auction%20of%20Spectrum%20for3G%20&%20...
Raja should quit, says BJP's Jaitley
BJP leader Arun Jaitley has demanded that Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja should not stay in office in the interest of a fair investigation into “the biggest scandal since Independence”.
The “value” of the 2G spectrum allocation scandal was no longer a matter of conjecture. It was simple arithmetic. Each of the nine licences was allotted to operators for roughly Rs. 1,650 crore, and some almost immediately sold 60 to 70 per cent equity in their companies for Rs. 4,500 crore to Rs. 9,000 crore, Mr. Jaitley said.
Referring to the recent comments made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the CBI raids on offices of the Telecommunications Department, he said: “It was unfortunate that the Prime Minister has chosen to comment on the innocence of the Minister even while investigations are on … We have to see whether the Prime Minister allows a fair investigation and takes it to its logical conclusion … His concern for probity is under trial.”
Mr. Jaitley, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said the Minister had publicly stated that he kept the Prime Minister informed about the policy decisions on 2G spectrum allotment. It was now for the government to say who was guilty and the investigations should unearth the full story.
Mr. Jaitley’s apprehension was that the raids would not be allowed to reach the top, but would point accusing fingers at some civil servants. On policy matters involving thousands of crores of rupees, it was unthinkable that any decision would be taken by civil servants. Propriety demanded that while investigations were on, the Minister should not be in office, the BJP leader said.
The fact that while allocating 3G spectrum the government was now talking about taking the auction route was itself an indication that the earlier approach was wrong and not transparent, he said.
Applications were invited for allocating telecom licences and 2G spectrum with the last date being October 1, 2007. However, the cut-off date was then advanced to September 25 and all applications received after September 25 were declared invalid. A number of real estate companies with no infrastructure or experience in telecom were the beneficiaries. Having secured the spectrum and licences, they sold 60-70 per cent of their equity to other companies to set up joint venture companies. Spending Rs. 1,650 crore on the licence, they collected, in some instances, Rs. 9,000 crore.
Asked about Mumbai Juhu Centaur Hotel disinvestment during the NDA regime — the hotel was sold by the government for a certain sum and then the company buying it re-sold it for a far higher sum within months — Mr. Jaitley said: “The case was referred to the CBI by the UPA government. Nothing was found and it was closed.”
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/27/stories/2009102761711200.htm
Opinion: We are too worn out and profoundly disappointed to comment on this recent turn of events in India. Our previous editorials speak for themselves! Our last post hinted that Mr. Raja had become "the boy who cried wolf" as no one believes him any more as a result of the never ending auction postponements. What now?
Comment
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Comment by Alan J Weissberger on October 28, 2009 at 10:44am
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Google could bid for Indian WiMAX licenses
by Caroline Gabriel of Rethink Wireless
Google may gain short term profile by working closely with carriers, but its bigger vision rests on a fully open mobile web, where its services and revenue streams hold pole position. The search giant has consistently invested in initiatives that should increase availability of cheap, ubiquitous internet access, supporting Wi-Fi metrozones, Clearwire's WiMAX build-out and emerging technology start-ups like femtocell specialist Ubiquisys. Like Intel, it has also shown itself willing to take part in spectrum auctions in pursuit of its goals, and is reported to be interested in the Indian WiMAX sale.
Google is not looking to become a conventional operator, but takes an interest in spectrum for two reasons - to pressurize regulators and rival bidders into adopting more open rules, a tactic it used in the US 700MHz auction (where its lobbying helped the imposition of the open access mandate on the national license); and potentially to create a network for service provider partners offering new-style services (Google's vision includes wholesale super-networks used by a host of providers on an on-demand basis, though Clearwire's multi-MVNO model is as far as this has progressed so far.)
In India, Google's interest is in the WiMAX spectrum at 2.3GHz rather than the 3G sale, according to reports in the country's Business Standard newspaper. While the 3G frequencies are likely to be snapped up by existing Indian or international operators to support an expansion of conventional businesses and services, WiMAX is expected to be highly disruptive in India, attracting new carriers and revenue models, and supporting expansion of broadband access in a desperately underserved nation. With very limited fixed access, mobile platforms are likely to lead web uptake and Google aims to be in the forefront of this wave in one of the world's biggest growth markets for its services.
According to press reports, Google could either bid for a national license with an Indian firm or be a technology partner in a joint venture. Under revised Indian rules, a foreign firm can only hold 74% of a license acquirer. Google would not comment. The WiMAX auction will be held shortly after the close of the 3G sale, which is now scheduled to start on January 14 after successive postponements.
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