Auction for
2G and 3G spectrum starts on Wednesday pitting the country's biggest business
houses led by Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anil
Ambani and the Tata Group against each other in a sale which can net the govt a
minimum Rs 80,000 crore at reserve price.
The govt
plans to sell 380.75 MHz of spectrum in three 2G bands — the premium 900 MHz
band, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz —besides 5 Mhz in the 2100 Mhz band (3G) across 17
out of 22 telecom areas in the country. Experts expect fierce bidding for the
cost efficient 900 Mhz band, which can also be used for 3G services.
