A fierce auction for the 3G mobile phone spectrum in India ended on Wednesday, generating US$14.6 billion for the government, the Department of Telecommunications said.
The government had expected to get less than 350 billion rupees (US$7.5 billion), but over 34 days of bidding the amount rose to 509.7 billion rupees, according to bid prices listed on the Department of Telecommunications’ Web site.
Two state owned companies, which were given advance spectrum, must also match the winning bid prices, making the total amount made by the government 677 billion rupees.
The government could use that unexpected windfall to trim its swollen fiscal deficit.
“Of course, getting extra money from the 3G auction will provide a little more elbow room and fiscal space for me to manage financial matters,” Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters.
Whether India’s winning telecoms companies will make out as well remains to be seen, analysts say.
None of the seven winning operators will have a nationwide presence. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Aircel each won bids in 13 of 22 areas, more than any other company. Vodafone bought into nine areas.
Market leaders Bharti, Vodafone and Reliance Communications paid dearly for spectrum in the key markets of Mumbai and New Delhi, but will need to tie up with smaller players to provide nationwide coverage for their 3G customers.
The three winning bidders for the New Delhi spectrum each paid 33.2 billion rupees, while Mumbai’s three winners paid 32.5 billion rupees.
The auction hit in the middle of a brutal mobile phone price war in India and paying for spectrum will hit already eroding margins.
Sandeep Ladda, an executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Mumbai, said what many operators really wanted was not the 3G license, but the additional spectrum to serve India’s fast-growing customer base.
He said it could take five years before the operators recoup their bids.
A separate auction for the broadband wireless spectrum is expected to start soon.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
RSS