The eagerly awaited 3G Radio Airwaves Spectrum Auction kicked off on friday. India is the world’s fastest-growing wireless market and 3G is still not here. This auction will help telecom firms offer premium third-generation (3G) services in India. Strong competitors are Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and the Indian unit of Vodafone. An DoT official has confirmed the scheduled start of 3G auction and it would take about a week to for the auctions to be completed. There are a total 71 3G slots on offer in India’s 22 telecoms zones in the auction, followed by a separate auction of broadband spectrum. Ths auction is the biggest of its kind in recent times.

A total of 10 rounds of bidding had been completed by Saturday, India’s Department of Telecommunications said on its website, without disclosing which company had bid how much. On the first day, bids were at about a 12 percent premium to the base price of 35 billion rupees for all-India spectrum. There is no bidding on Sunday. The auction resumes on Monday. ($1=44.3 rupees)