Bid for 3G continues on Day 2 of auction in Delhi

The pace of the 3G (third generation) bidding picked up on the second day of auction, with the maximum bid price increasing by 4.2 per cent from the opening day. On Saturday, the maximum pan-India bid price touched Rs 4085 crore, up from Friday’s Rs 3919 crore. The total bid amount on the second day of the auction was at Rs 16,676 crore, if one is to include the money to be paid by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), who have to match the highest bid.

The other highlights of the second day of auction was that Delhi remained on top commanding the highest bid. From Rs 373.29 crore on Day 1, Delhi’s highest bid incraesed to Rs 392.31 crore on the second day. While Mumbai was second on Friday in terms of bid value, the circle has been pushed down by Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu on Day 2. While Mumbai commanded the highest bid value of Rs 377.36 crore on Saturday, up from 362.66 crore on Friday, the circles of Maharashtra, Andhra and TN got as much as Rs 381.13 crore each, up from Rs 362.66 crore a day ago.

Interestingly, Gujarat showed maximum demand on Saturday with 5 telecom operators remaining in fray after end of 10 rounds of bidding over a period of two days. Among other circles, demand for Delhi went up from 3 to 4 operators at the end of Saturday’s bidding, while 3 were in the fray in Mumbai, down from Friday’s 4.

Sunday will be a rest day for 3G auction, and the play would resume on Monday.