Feature
Much awaited telecom spectrum auction begins
New Delhi: The much-awaited auctions for spectrum or airwaves for the 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 megahertz (MHz) bands began Wednesday morning with eight companies in the fray.
“The auction process has started smoothly,” a source told.
The eight telecom service providers participating are Reliance Communications, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Tata Teleservices, Uninor, Idea Cellular and Aircel.
These eight companies have submitted an earnest money of Rs.20,435 crore.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has selected Kolkata-based mjunction services – an information technology and internet company promoted 14 years ago as a 50:50 venture by Steel Authority of India Ltd and TATA Steel – for conducting the spectrum auction.
The auction will take place between 9 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
The total spectrum put to auction is 103.75 MHz in 800 MHz band, 177.8 MHz in 900 MHz band and 99.2 MHz in 1,800 MHz band – a total of 380.75 MHz in 800, 900 and 1,800 MHz.
The government will also put on sale 5 MHz in the 2,100 MHz band, which is used for 3G services in 17 out of 22 telecom areas.
The reserve price approved is Rs.3,646 crore pan-India per MhZ in 800 MHz, Rs.3,980 crore for 900 MHz band pan-India, and Rs.2,191 crore pan-India in 1,800 MHz band. The government also approved a reserve price of Rs.3,705 crore per megahertz for third generation services.
As per estimates, at the base price alone, the auction will translate into some Rs.82,000 crore, even as the actual process is estimated to fetch around Rs.100,000 crore.
In December 2015, seven licences each of Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications, four licences of Bharti Airtel and six licences of Vodafone will complete their 20-year term after which they have to be renewed. In total, there are 29 licences in 18 service areas which expire in 2015-16.
The other telecom operators who are not participating in the auction are Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd, which provides services under the brand name MTS, Videocon Telecom and state-owned BSNL and MTNL.
The service providers will bid using fixed internet protocols (IP) as dynamic IP addresses are not allowed.
The objectives of the auctions are to obtain a market determined price of spectrum in the bands through a transparent process, ensure efficient use of spectrum and avoid hoarding, stimulate competition in the sector, promote rollout of the respective services and maximise revenue proceeds from the auctions within the set parameters.
The finance ministry is expected to closely watch the e-auction of radio frequency spectrum for telecom operators as it is crucial for the government to be able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent of GDP.
For the record, the matter of auction was under litigation even before it began. But the Supreme Court has permitted the Department of Telecom to go ahead with the process from March 4 and await its directions before finalisation.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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