Out of a total  of 22 telco circles in India, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) fears that nine circles are facing the spectrum crunch. This new problem has appeared for DoT amidst the innumerable hassles popping up in the third generation (3G) circuit. The Telecom minister, A Raja has already announced the delay in the 3G auction process due to some strange reasons such as December being too full of holidays.

The matter of spectrum crisis can be resolved if the defence forces vacate their spectrum for commercial use in nine circles -  Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, East Uttar Pradesh and West Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, North East and West Bengal.  The defence forces are yet to vacate the spectrum.

DoT needs 30 MHz of spectrum to accommodate six players which is unavailable in nine circles. Rajasthan hardly has any spectrum and Delhi has only about 15 MHz, a half of the required frequencies. 

Now, a big question hovers over the much-awaited 3G. DoT has already announced the 3G guidelines and the auction is set to take place in early 2009 which is just couple of months away. In this situation, DoT may face great hassles and criticism as well as it didn’t make it clear before announcing the guidelines. 

Earlier, Mumbai and Delhi were the only two circles with spectrum crunch. Now, the  new spectrum crunch in nine circles has come up and this must be making DoT sick. The new twist only suggests alarming bells of uncertainty.

On the foreign investors’ front, this crisis may create a sense of insecurity in the minds of foreign players. The government expects to generate huge revenue from the participation of foreign players in the 3G auction.

However, DoT is still fighting it out in the middle and seems to be in no mood to give it up. DoT has given an assurance on the availability of spectrum. It has also informed that it has reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with defence forces. 

One would hardly rely on DoT’s assurances from now onwards as assurances are subject to change in the DoT’s 3G policy. X

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