The auction for 3G mobile licence closed on Wednesday , leaving Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee with Rs 67,710 crore (around USD 15 billion) -- twice the revenue he expected to raise.
The pan-India bid for third generation spectrum stood at Rs 16,750.58 crore and Anil Ambani-led RCom bagged the highest number of 13 circles, followed by Bharti in 12, Idea in 11 and Vodafone and Tatas in nine circles each, according to the Department of Telecom (DoT).
Key circles Mumbai and Delhi went to Bharti, Vodafone and RCom. Delhi spectrum went for Rs 3,316.93 crore, while that the bid for Mumbai closed at Rs 3,247.07 crore on the 34th day of auction.
No single player could bag pan-India licence for 3G mobile services.
The government had estimated raising Rs 35,000 crore from sale of spectrum for 3G as well as Broadband Wireless access (BWA) put together.
But with auction for BWA spectrum yet to begin, the revenue mop up could go up further.
Besides Delhi and Mumbai, Bharti has got 3G spectrum in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, UP (West), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East and Jammu and Kashmir.
Bharti, however, lost out in Punjab, from where company promoter Sunil Mittal hails.
RCom would be able to offer 3G mobile services in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, Kolkata, Punjab, North East and Jammu and Kashmir, other than Delhi and Mumbai.
Vodafone-Essar has succeeded in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Haryana, UP (East). Vodafone also bagged Delhi and Mumbai.
Tatas, who have been denied 2G spectrum in Delhi, also lost out on 3G spectrum in Delhi. They, however, managed to get a slot in Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (West), Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana.
Similarly, Idea Cellular got spectrum in 11 circles including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and UP (East), among others.
New operators Etisalat and Videocon have failed to get spectrum in even one cirlce, while Aircel and S Tel have bagged a few service areas. PTI
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