India’s 3G auction- Wait is not over yet
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The operators waiting to have a 3G network does not see an end to their wait as the auction for 3G network has again been postponed and this time not for few days but for months.
The Indian government has announced that it might defer the bandwidth auction for the third generation the next fiscal year starting April 1, 2010.
Since January 16, 2009, the dates for the auctions have been deferred thrice over issues such as an increase in the starting price of bandwidth and the number of slots to be sold.
Winning 3G bid might be used as base price for future sale: DOT
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The base price for all airwaves sale in the future will now be based on the winning bids in each circle for the upcoming third generation (3G) spectrum in India. It may also be recommended by TRAI that the current policy of allocating 2G spectrum based on the operators’ subscriber numbers should be stopped and instead of that the international policy of auctioning should be followed.
As per the recommendation, in the immediate future, the telecom operators will have to shell out huge amounts for radio frequencies besides shelling out the equivalent or more money for 3G spectrum for all additional frequencies.
Rs 25,000 and Rs 35,000 crore has been expected by Government through this auction. By bringing out this proposal, DOT is also expected to rake in an equivalent amount from the 2G spectrum sale in the next fiscal. All fresh allocations of 2G spectrum has been frozen by DOT.
Motorola’s biggest division auction put on hold
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After the lower-than-expected bids for the company’s biggest division, Motorola is reconsidering its latest breakup plan by putting the auction of its home and networks mobility unit on hold.
USD 4 billion to USD 5 billion had been expected by the company but the bids have fallen in the range of USD 3 billion to USD 4 billion. So far two telecommunications firms- Huawei Technologies and Arris Group- have made first-round bids for the home and networks mobility unit.
Huawei’s bid might encounter political opposition for reasons like Chinese government gaining access to sensitive US telecommunications infrastructure. While Arris, due to its smaller size, would likely have to team up with a private-equity firm to win the auction.
Only three 3G slots to be auctioned in India
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The telecom operators in India will now have to suffer another setback in their ambition to acquire the 3G services. After the continuous delay in the auction originally set for December 2008, only three 3G slots will be auctioned and even after acquiring that slot, winning bidders will be able to offer commercial 3G services only from Sept 2, 2010.
The government has planned to offer three blocks of 2 x 5 MHz of paired spectrum in the 2.1-Ghz band in each of the country’s 22 telecom circles. Last year, one 2×5 Mhz block of spectrum each was granted to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL), the state controlled telecom operators.
Till last year, four 4G spectrum was to be auctioned but a brawl between the defense ministry and department of telecom has resulted in a reduction in the number of slots being auctioned.
25% of their bid amounts will have to be deposited by the winning bidders within five calendar days of the auction date and the remainder of the money within 15 days.
Idea has enough funds to bid for 3G bandwidth
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: According to the managing director of Idea Cellular Ltd, the company has enough funds to be eligible to bid for the upcoming bandwidth auction for third generation, or 3G, mobile phone services.
India has now planned to hold the auction in February after delaying the bidding for the 3G bandwidth a number of times.
As per the government’s plan, the slots of 3G radio bandwidth will be sold at a base price of INR35 billion for one such slot.
Etisalat mulling over Iraq’s telecom option, to decide by year en
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The second-largest Arab telecom operator by market value, Emirates Telecommunications Corp, or Etisalat said that it will decide whether to bid for a licence or buy a stake in a local player in Iraq, by the end of 2009.
The company is holding talks with Korek Telecom of Iraq, to acquire 51% stake in the company. Etisalat is also planning to bid for fourth mobile telecom license in Iraq after the government announced plans earlier this year to launch a new auction.
Etisalat is waiting to hear from the Libyan authorities about the company’s bid for a license in the region besides, bidding for third mobile license to be launched by the Syrian government.
The company is also keeping a close eye on Iran’s situation where the Abu Dhabi-based company along with a consortium won an international tender for Iran’s third mobile phone license in 2009. However, the deal later fell through.
TOT launches 3G network in Thailand
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The launch of 3G network by Thailand’s state-controlled mobile network TOT got a cold response from the subscribers. However, initially the network will be available only in Bangkok and the areas surrounding it. Expansion of the network in the near future relies on the auction of the 3G license.
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will offer four licenses- three of 10 Mhz and a fourth with 15Mhz of radio spectrum while the reserve price will range between US$100-US$200 million. The process will not take place until next year as there is a lack of executives to form a quorum.
Small trials of 3G networks are already run by the current operators over their existing GSM radio spectrum, while CAT Telecom which is a CDMA operator, is seeking an overseas investor to assist in 3G rollout plans
Norwegian firm Telenor enters India with 29p per minute plan
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Moving one step ahead of the pay per second system, Norway-based firm Telenor, entered Indian market with 29 paise per minute plan under the brand name Uninor. The company has tied up with India’s Unitech Group and will be launched in seven circles — UP (East), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, UP (West) and Bihar.
According to the CEO and President of Telenor group, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, the new plan offers more value for money to the users as the consumers want something more than the usual features. The pay per second billing was first launched by TATA DoCoMo, followed by other operators.
According to Unitech Wireless Managing Director Stein-Erik Vellan, the company’s target is to occupy 8% of the market share by 2018 and operate cash-flow break-even in five years.
Besides, the company also expects that the average revenue per user (ARPU) becomes lower than the industry level in the near term. However, Unitech is susceptible about bidding in the 3G auction but at the same time it has made it clear that it will surely not bid for an all India license.
Nortel to offload its GSM Business
Nortel announced on wednesday that it is planning to sell off its GSM and GSM-R (GSM for railways) assets via an open auction process due to be held on November 9, 2009. The transaction will include GSM related patents and non-exclusive licenses to other relevant patents.
Subject to approval of the bidding procedures filed with the US and Canadian courts, qualifying bidders will need to submit offers for the assets by November 5, 2009.
Earlier in September, Avaya emerged as the winning bidder for Nortel’s corporate communications unit, with an offer of close to a billion dollars.
Earlier in August, the CEO and president of Nortel, Mike Zafirovski had announced his resignation effective immediately.
Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile bids 1.18 bln usd in 17th round us wireless auction
LONDON (AFX) – Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile bid 1.18 bln usd for 23 licenses in the 17th round of the US wireless auction, taking its total provisional bids to 58 licenses for 3.75 bln usd.Cingular AWS, owned by AT&T Inc and BellSouth Corp, bid 139.3 mln usd for 34 licences in the latest round, taking its total provisional bids to 37 licences for 632.9 mln usd.The US Federal Communications Commission started the auction last week and it will run until no more bids are submitted, a process that could take several weeks.The auction covers portions of radio spectrum which companies use to transmit sound, data or images wirelessly.
T-Mobile is expected to be a major bidder as it needs further spectrum in order to compete with its three bigger wireless rivals.
Source- London Stock Exchange
Technorati : Cingular, Deutsche Telecom, Mobile, T-Mobile, UK
Ice Rocket : Cingular, Deutsche Telecom, Mobile, T-Mobile, UK
