3G bids up 24% from base on third day of auction in Delhi

Bids rose further on the third day of the third-generation (3G) spectrum auction, with one provisional winning bid for national cover touching Rs43.24 billion ($972 million), or about 24% higher than the base price, government data showed on Monday.

A total of 16 rounds of bidding have been completed by Monday, the department of telecommunications said on its website.

Nine mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone's Indian unit, are participating in the auction.

The auction, which began last Friday, may take about two weeks to complete, government officials say.