Airtel, Idea gain on lower 2G auction prices

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's wireless services providers rise after an auction of 2G airwaves attracts less demand than targeted by the government because prices are seen as too high.

The low prices give a respite to the debt-ridden industry, with the government raising less than one fourth of the targeted 400 billion rupees via the auction, which is being undertaken after the Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of permits granted in a scandal-tainted process in 2008.

Barclays Capital says the lower pricing is a "positive outcome" for the industry, but warns there is still a lack of clarity on the timing of the government's next step to find market prices for spectrum.