Apr 07, 2010, 01.08 PM IST

Bids for 3G spectrum may come in between $2.5-3 bn: E&Y

The much delayed 3G auctions and broadband wireless spectrum auction will finally happen at 9 am this Friday. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Prashant Singhal, Telecom Head, Ernst & Young gave his perspective and the bidding outcome he expects from the 3G auction.

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Prashant Singhal, Telecom Head, Ernst & Young

The much delayed 3G auctions and broadband wireless spectrum auction is on track and as many as 20 bidders will finally slug it out at 9 am this Friday. This is the first time that a government asset is being auctioned electronically through a dedicated platform in India. NM Rothschild & Sons (India) and Dotecon are advising the government on the auctions.

The Department of Telecommunications has come out with auction norms specifically designed to prevent predatory bids and collusion.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Prashant Singhal, Telecom Head, Ernst & Young gave his perspective and the bidding outcome he expects from the 3G auction.

Here is a verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Given the design of the auction, what sort of bidding outcome do you expect?

A: The bidding outcome is obviously going to be very intense because there are activity levels which have to be maintained by the operators, and typically all the operators would need to bid for the maximum circles for them to be having the points or the eligibility points that has to be available till the last round and nobody knows what is the last round. I mean I would think that it could be anywhere between USD 2.5 to USD 3 billion in terms of 3G as a pan India license.