Singapore IDA: Each 3G License Worth S$100M If No Auction

Bidders for Singapore's third-generation, or 3G, mobile licenses will obtain their licenses at S$100 million each if the planned auction doesn't take place, according to the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore Wednesday.

If the four bidders each decide to choose a different block of the spectrum available, there will be no auction and each bidder will get a license at the S$100 million reserve price, IDA's spokeswoman Dulcie Chan told the press.

Singapore will auction rights to four blocks of spectrum, the airwaves necessary to send large amounts of data for 3G mobile phones.

However, if more than one bidder competes for the right to a certain block of spectrum, the auction for all four blocks will take place, she said.

IDA said it will assess the applications and announce the eligible bidders by April 2.

Chan said qualified bidders are required to submit their initial offers on April 9, indicating which spectrum they have selected.

IDA will announce whether it will go ahead with the auction on April 11, Chan said. The auction is scheduled for April 23.

The 3G mobile phones will be handheld computers - capable of making phone calls, sending e-mail, broadcasting movies, playing video games, even taking digital photographs.