The ongoing e-auction for 3G spectrum on Thursday crossed yet another landmark with the provisional winning price for pan-India spectrum crossing the Rs.15,000-crore mark, assuring government of over Rs.60,000 crore from the bidding.
And the government can expect a few thousand crores from it against its budgeted estimates of Rs. 35,000 from 3G and wireless broadband as the auction might continue for a few more days.
After completion of 162 rounds and 29 days since the auction began, Mumbai and Delhi continue to be the most-valued telecom circles at Rs. 2,824 crore and Rs. 2,745 crore, respectively, against the reserve price of a meagre Rs.320 crore for each circle.
Base price
Similarly, five other circles have crossed the Rs.1,000-crore mark and a couple of other States are touching Rs.500 crore. The base price for a national 3G licence was fixed at Rs.3,500 crore.