The first-ever auction of the radio frequency spectrum for third generation (3G) telephony began from today. It would facilitate high-speed mobile services in the country.<br/><br/>Nine telecom companies, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Aircel, Etisalat, S Tel and Videocon Telecommunications, are participating in the online auction process which will be held from 9 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. on all days, except Sundays and national holidays.<br/><br/>Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular and Aircel are bidding for all-India spectrum, while Videocon, S Tel and Etisalat are bidding only for selective circles.<br/><br/>Our correspondent reports that it is a simultaneous auction of 22 service areas over a secure website on the Internet.<br/><br/>The auction has multiple rounds. During the e-auction, the telecom operators will have to match the base price, set at 3,500 crore rupees for one 3G slot by the government. According to official sources the first round of e-auction had been completed by 1 pm.<br/><br/>The bid data will be made public after the auction is completed. The winning firms will have to deposit the money within 10 days after the auction. The successful bidders would be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from Sep 1.<br/><br/>According to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) issued in February, of the 22 telecom circles, five states, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, will have four private players for the auction. For broadband services, the auction will begin two days after the process concludes for 3G spectrum.