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India to open mobile bids as court lifts ban

An Indian court on Tuesday lifted its ban on the auction process of new cellular phone licences, paving the way for the government to open price bids received by it for these licences, an official said.

The government has completed two rounds of price bidding for the much-awaited licences for the slot of the fourth mobile operator in India's 21 telecom zones.

Private telecom firms had submitted their bids for the final round of price bidding on July 19 but these could not be opened as the Madras high court ordered a "status quo" on the process, which the government interpreted as a ban on the auction.

"The Madras high court vacated its stay on the bidding today. This allows the government to open the final round of price bids which will be done later on Tuesday," a telecom ministry spokesman said.

The Union government had on Monday sought the help of the Supreme Court to remove legal obstacles from several smaller courts which delayed the auction process.

Private telecom firms have been keenly waiting for the licenses which they view as their last and probably only chance to enter the high-profile and fast-growing mobile business.

Leading private telecom groups including Bharti Enterprises and the Indian unit of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecom are among the frontrunners for the licences.

In all, six private groups had bid for these licences which are expected to be awarded by the end of August.

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