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Reliance Comm out of cellular phone bid

Reliance Communications Pvt Ltd, a part of the Reliance group, the country's largest business conglomerate, withdrew its bids to offer mobile phone services in 15 telecom zones, a company official told Reuters.

The government received 57 bids last week for new cellular licences in four metro cities and 17 telecom circles or zones that are being auctioned as part of a plan to boost competition in the fast-growing business.

The government hopes to award the licences by the end of August after a three-step bidding process.

"Yes, we have withdrawn the application," the official said but did not give a reason.

Reliance Communications withdrew its applications on Friday after India's telecom department said that two companies, owned fully or partly by the same promoter, could not compete for a licence in the same circle, the United News of India reported. Reliable Internet Services Ltd, another Reliance group firm, also bid to offer mobile phone services in the same 15 circles in the first stage of bidding that closed last Friday and remains a contender.

Reliance Communications Pvt Ltd is promoted by group flagship, Reliance Industries Ltd, while Reliable Internet is promoted by the group's financial services firm Reliance Capital Ltd.

The two companies put in identical bids for the four cities of Bombay, New Delhi, Madras and Calcutta and 11 states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Western and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Each of these cities and zones have two private operators now with state-run telecom giants BSNL and MTNL having the option of being the third.

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