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)

Bharti Airtel, has officially launched the iPhone 3GS in India today.

The iPhone 3GS is now available in over 80 countries around the world. iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with new features including improved speed and performance – up to twice as fast as iPhone 3G – with longer battery life, a 3 megapixel autofocus camera, easy to use video recording and hands free voice control. The App Store provides access to more than 150,000 applications from games to social networking to financial planning and health management, generating more than 3 billion downloads to date.

“We are delighted with the opportunity to bring the eagerly-awaited iPhone 3GS to India. Combining the strength of the Airtel brand and network with the great user interface of iPhone 3GS, we are happy to bring to our customers an experience that will take mobile communications to a whole new level,” said Atul Bindal, President-Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel.

The iPhone 3GS would be available for Rs. 35,500 for the 16GB model and Rs. 41,500 for the 32GB model. Additionally, iPhone 3G continues to be available in the 8GB version for Rs. 29,500.

Click here to visit the official Airtel Website.

Vodafone has come out with a low cost mobile phone for the common man of India, who can’t go for the other high end phones available in the market. The company now brings the Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 mobile phone which come with an affordable price tag attached to it.

Vodafone is looking at emerging markets in order to find potential buyers. The company is seen launching its two handsets into the Indian markets as well as six African markets like The Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Qatar and Tanzania. The company is looking forward for the devices to reach at least 60% of the population.

“The cost of mobile handsets can be one of the most significant barriers for people in accessing and benefiting from the growing number of socially valuable mobile services. The lives of people who use these phones – the Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 – will be changed and improved as they become part of the mobile society. I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do in this critical area of customer empowerment,” revealed Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Director of Terminals.

The Vodafone 150 and Vodafone 250 provide its customers with a great voice as well as SMS services. They also offer support for mobile payment services. The two mobile phones from the carrier are similar with respect to their specifications and features. The only exception being that the screen of the Vodafone 250 supports color and is just a little bigger when pitted against the Vodafone 150. It also offers an FM radio unlike the latter. The company is providing the phones with a custom-built feature set and packaging design.

The Vodafone 150 is set to retail at under $15 (approx. Rs.693) while the Vodafone 250 is scheduled to retail at under $20 (approx. Rs.924). The exact pricing details will be known when it hits the local market.