India 3G airwave race gathers pace, bids in April

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Telecoms firms including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Etisalat will vie for third-generation (3G) Indian mobile spectrum in an April auction, as they clamour for capacity for new services.

The next-generation technologies would allow high-speed Internet access and data transfer on mobile phones and boost usage of data services, where margins are higher. More spectrum would also improve the quality of voice services.

It would also help those foreign firms not yet present in India to gain a foothold in a market that added a monthly average of nearly 15 million subscribers in 2009. With more than 550 million mobile users, it is the second-biggest wireless market in the world, beaten only by China.

India has put on the block three 3G slots in most of its 22 telecoms service areas, while two slots per service area are up for grabs in a simultaneous but separate auction for broadband wireless access (BWA) radio airwaves.

The 3G auction starts from April 9, and the BWA auction will kick off two days after it closes, the Indian government said last month. Friday is the last date for submitting interest to participate in the auctions, and officials expect more applications.