NEW DELHI (AFP) – India said Saturday a long-delayed auction of radio bandwidth for third generation (3G) telecommunications services will start in January and will be open to foreign companies.

The auction will start January 14, 2010 with bids to be submitted by December 21, the Department of Telecommunications said in an announcement posted on its website, adding that the time schedule could be revised.

The auction of 3G radio spectrum for mobile services will put India’s cellular market — the fastest growing in the world — on track for a new level of wireless telephony, experts say.

The government has said it aims to raise 250 billion rupees (5.38 billion dollars) from the sale of 3G bandwidth that would allow high-speed Internet, video downloads and other sophisticated media services on cellular telephones.

The government hopes to use the money raised from the auction to help plug a yawning fiscal deficit.

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With Best Buy confirming exclusive retail rights to the 10-inch netbook with built-in 3G and GPS, are all hopes gone of seeing its estimated $800 price subsidized by a wireless carrier?

Nokia has had trouble getting some phones subsidized by U.S. carriers in the past, so I’m a little concerned here. Because ridiculous price aside, the Booklet 3G has some kick-ass specs: Windows 7, 1280 by 720 (720p) screen, built-in accelerometer, SIM card slot and integrated OVi maps, claimed 16-hour battery life, and HDMI.

Other essentials include 802.11n Wi-Fi, 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor, 120GB hard disk and 1GB RAM—there’s no Nvidia Ion love.

If you prefer not to deal with the Geek Squad, Nokia will still be selling the Booklet 3G online. But neither company has coughed up any more info on when it will be available (possibly October 22), or how much it will cost. In Europe, it’s €575 ($810) before-subsidies. We’ll have to wait and see.

From : gizmodo.com