Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) confirmed its Algerian subsidiary Orascom Telecom Algerie (OTA), operating as Djezzy, has paid US$113 million to the Algerian tax authority. The figure represents the remaining balance of the principal amount of the authority’s tax reassessment claim for the years 2005-2007, equivalent to US$597 million, excluding penalties which amount to US$74 million.

Algerian tax authorities ordered the outstanding payments in November 2009 after an audit found Djezzy had earned US$5.25 billion, US$830,000 more than it had declared for the 2005-2007 period.

OTA had previously paid US$49 million from the total penalties of US$74 million. Payment of the remaining US$25 million has been suspended until final ruling from the Administrative Court. All monies paid will be recoverable if OTA’s case against the tax authority is successful.

The bid price for a slot of 3G spectrum covering all India’s 22 telecommunications circles will begin at INR43.99 billion (US$988 million), when the government-run auction resumes Tuesday April 13. The highest bid price achieved on day three for India-wide bandwidth was INR43.24 billion.

Action on April 12 saw Delhi and Gujarat attract top bid prices of INR4.1643 billion (US$93.6 million) a piece, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with INR4.045 billion, and then Karnataka with INR3.9658 billion. Gujarat drew five bids for the available three slots, while Delhi received four bids for its three slots.

At the other end of the auction, four circles – West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, and Jammu and Kashmir – attracted no bids and remain at the opening price of INR3 billion.

The Department of Telecommunications has not made public which operators are making bids in each round.

Union Communications Minister for Communications and IT, A. Raja believes the government could receive up to INR450 billion (US$10.1 billion) from the proceeds of the auction, up from the estimated INR350 billion.

After two days of bidding in India’s 3G spectrum auction, the Delhi circle has already attracted a top bid of INR3.923 billion (US$88 million). The telecoms department launched the auction on March 9 and expects it could take up to two weeks for the auction to be completed, with nine operators bidding over several rounds each day. In 17 of the 22 circles, three slots of bandwidth are available, while four are offered in the remaining five circles.

Leading bid prices at end of day two (April 10) in selected circles

INR billions – Telecommunications Circle
3.9231 – Delhi
3.8113 – Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
3.7736 – Mumbai, Gujarat, Karnataka
1.4454 – Rajasthan
1.4290 – Calcutta, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West)1.2241 – Bengal

Source: Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India

Bidders ignored the Orissa, Assam and Jammu, and Kashmir service areas during the second day of bidding.

DoT said the bidding for one India-wide slot will start at INR41.37 billion rupees when day three actions continues on April 12.

The nine pre-qualified bidders for the 3G auction are Aircel, Bharti Airtel, Etisalat DB Telecom, Idea Cellular, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Videocon Telecom and Vodafone Essar.

Vodafone Essar has become the third operator in India to reach the 100 million customer milestone, as well as the fifth operator worldwide to capture as many subscribers in a single market. The Indian arm of UK’s Vodafone reached the landmark figure behind competitors Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications, which reached 100 million subscribers in May 2009 and March 2010 respectively.

“In the past three years, we have invested over INR 200 billion (US$4.5 billion) to expand our operations to service customers in India. We will utilise our global and Indian experience to deliver the best products and services to our customers,” stated Marten Pieters, MD and CEO of Vodafone Essar.

The mobile firm originally began operators in May 2007 with GSM services in 16 telecommunications circles. Coverage has been extended over the past three years to cover all of India. Approximately 60 per cent of the operator’s new subscribers come from rural areas.

Mobile phone connections in Egypt reached 56.49 million by the end of February 2010, equating to a mobile penetration rate of around 72 per cent according to figures from the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority. New subscriptions in February totalled 642,000.

The number of mobile customers across the country grew 30 per cent from a year earlier when numbers peaked at 43.49 million. The population is estimated at 78 million.

There are currently three mobile firms servicing Egypt – Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt. The country’s communications minister said in January the licensing of a fourth mobile could be on the cards in the near future, which state-owned landline provider Telecom Egypt has hinted it would be keen to snap up.