3G Auction

Indian
telecom companies bid $14.6 billion for the 3G mobile spectrum, almost twice the
expected rate.

No company
won bids for all national regions. Bharti Airtel, Reliance and Aircel each won
bids in 13 of 22 areas, while Vodafone bought nine areas. Bharti paid $2.7
billion for its regions, which include Mumbai and New Delhi, while Vodafone
paid $2.5 billion. Only 5 percent of Indian phones presently have 3G.