The department of telecommunication held a pre-bid conference on Monday for starting the much waited 3G spectrum and WiMAX allocation process which is expected to begin in mid-January. The officials of Dot answered all queries of private players in the meet and assured smooth allocation of frequencies to the bidders. The department also cleared position of frequencies available in each telecom circle.

Telecom payers have to wait up to 8 December when the department would release frequency slots and sub band available in each circle.

The information memorandum (IM), meanwhile, claimed that government would fall short of frequencies in some telecom circles to accommodate four private telecom players. Delhi and Gujarat has only two 3G slots and there is no availability of 3G airwaves in Rajasthan and majority of North East states for auction.

West Bengal can accommodate only one player while Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (West) can add only three GSM mobile operators. Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan do not have enough 3G airwaves for CDMA operators.

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal had said, “The auction is expected to close in February and the operators would require a few months to roll out their networks, and therefore, even if there is a delay until June it will not be of any serious negative consequences.”