RIL, seven others apply to bid for mobile airwaves - sources

By Aman Shah and Nivedita Bhattacharjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries and seven other firms including top mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel have applied to participate in next month's auction for mobile phone airwaves, several people directly involved in the process said.

Others firms which have submitted applications for the auction that will start on March 4 include the local unit of Vodafone Group Plc , Reliance Communications , Idea Cellular , and Tata Teleservices, the people said.

Aircel, India's sixth-largest mobile telecoms operator, and Norwegian telecoms group Telenor's local unit Uninor, are also among the applicants, said the people, who declined to be named ahead of an official announcement.

 

India, the world's second-biggest mobile market with more than 900 million mobile phone users, traditionally sold airwaves through a state-selection process. It switched to an auction in 2012 after a scandal over mis-selling of permits.

The deadline for submitting applications for the new auction ended on Monday.

Senior officials at India's Department of Telecommunications did not comment on the auction ahead of an announcement, which, they said, was expected in the next few days.

Spokesmen for Bharti, Idea and Uninor confirmed submitting applications. Vodafone's India unit, Reliance Communications, and Tata Tele declined to comment, while Reliance Industries and Aircel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

India expects to raise over $10 billion from the new auction of mobile phone airwaves, intended to help carriers expand their services in a fast-growing market and the government to bolster its strained finances.

The government plans to auction a total of 380.75 megahertz (MHz) in the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1,800 Mhz airwave bands, along with 5 Mhz of spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band.

The entry of cash-rich Reliance Industries, a new entrant in telecoms which is seen as a threat to the incumbents, is expected to pressure carriers such as sector leader Bharti and Vodafone, which may be forced to bid higher to expand operations.

Energy-focused Reliance, led by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, returned unexpectedly to telecoms in 2010 by acquiring nationwide fourth-generation telecommunications services permits in a government auction.

Reliance, which plans to roll out services later this year, aims to offer high-speed data as well as voice services.

(Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Writing by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by David Holmes and Mark Potter)