3G bids up 89.5 pc on 10th day

NEW DELHI: Bids for a nationwide third-generation (3G) mobile spectrum licences in India rose 89.5 percent above the base price to 66.34 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) on the tenth day of an auction, government data showed on Wednesday.

Fifty-eight rounds of bidding had been completed by Wednesday, the Department of Telecommunications said on its website.

Nine mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone's Indian unit, are participating in the auction.

The auction, which began on April 9, may take about two weeks to complete, government officials have said.