India to auction airwaves for mobile phones, WiMAX in April

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, March 10 (Yonhap) -- India will auction licenses for nationwide mobile
phone services and next-generation mobile wireless services in April, South
Korean officials said Thursday, as Korean companies are gearing up to tap Asia's
third-largest economy.
According to South Korea's telecommunications regulator, the Indian government
has recently announced that it will hold the auction for third-generation mobile
phone services April 9.
Meanwhile, auctions to select companies to provide a next-generation mobile
wireless service, called WiMAX, will begin April 26, it added. Final buyers will
be selected before May 7.
WiMAX, which stands for worldwide interoperability for microwave access, is a
next-generation mobile wireless technology that allows data transfer at enhanced
speeds and also while in moving vehicles.
Only 7 million people, or 0.6 percent of the entire Indian population of 1.2
billion, have access to the broadband Internet, which is based on the current
third-generation technology.
Market watchers say India will jump-start public access with the auctions, which
Indian officials earlier said will fetch around US$5.4 billion for the
government.
Samsung Electronics Co., which supplies WiMAX devices and equipment to telecom
operators, is negotiating with likely bidders to grab a headstart, while industry
watchers said China's Huawei Technologies Co. is Samsung's biggest rival.
"Telecom operators usually pick suppliers for devices before they send letters of
intent for auctions," said an official at Samsung. "We will find out a general
outline by April."
ylee@yna.co.kr
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