The licence price for pan-India 3G mobile telephony rose to Rs. 9,920 crore on the 19th day of auction on Saturday, assuring the exchequer of Rs. 40,054 crore in revenue.
Nine bidders have driven up the prices beyond the government’s original collection estimate of Rs. 35,000 crore from sale of spectrum (air waves) for third generation mobile services and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA).
With BWA spectrum yet to be auctioned, the total collections could rise further.
Telecom Minister A. Raja had stated earlier that the government may garner around Rs. 50,000-Rs 55,000 crore by selling 3G air waves and BWA spectrum.