Sam Pitroda, Prime Minister's Information Technology Advisor, on Saturday said that the Government expects to complete the 3G auction within the next two months, enabling operators to roll-out their services soon.
“This (the 3G auction) will be completed within the next 60 days. The operators would start offering the service in this calendar year itself,” Mr. Pitroda told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here.
Noting that the auction process is “already delayed”, Mr. Pitroda said the Government wanted to complete the spectrum sale as soon as possible.
“The auction is already delayed but it will be completed soon...there is no question of any kind of uncertainty (in the auction process),” he said.
Mr. Pitroda said the Government hopes to bring 4G services into the country over the next two-years, for which, the timely implementation of 3G is necessary.
“We are now thinking of introducing 4G services in the next two-years in India. It is important that we do not lag behind in 3G technologies,” Mr. Pitroda said.
The Government has set the last date for submission of applications as March 19. The mock auction will take place on April 5 and 6, which will be followed by the much-awaited 3G auction on April 9, 2010, it said.
The third generation (3G) service enables users to access the Internet with facilities of high-speed content, download and broadband services.
The Government has said that three operators will be allowed to roll-out the service in most of the circles, including in the metros, across the country.
The auction of the spectrum has already been postponed several times owing to debates with regard to its availability and the number of operators in each circle.
