It's four in the afternoon and although it is still winter, dusk is at least a couple of hours away in Delhi. In Room No. 210 in Sanchar Bhawan on the capital's Ashoka Road, Nripendra Misra, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), is strangely calm. "By March 15, I am confident, the DoT will announce its new spectrum policy," murmurs Misra, who retires on the last day of March. His composure contrasts starkly with the agitation that marks most players in telecom; for starters, everyone would like to second-guess Misra, once the senior-most Indian bureaucrat interacting with the World Trade Organisation (WOT). Right now, the up cadre IAS officer is waiting for recommendations on the spectrum policy, which Pradip Baijal and his team at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are now busy preparing at their Safdarjung Enclave office, located a few kilometres away from Sanchar Bhawan.

It's still not clear what Baijal will recommend; nor does anyone know whether Misra and his boss, telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, have already decided what shape the policy, eagerly anticipated and with the power to make or break telcos should take. Its importance is evident from what Baijal, the TRAI chairman, who has been in and out of long meetings at his HQ, tells this correspondent over the phone: "It's a very important issue (spectrum) and I would like to talk to you on that. You know, there is tremendous pressure on me (from various interested groups)." Baijal could not meet BT till the issue went to press, but one thing is clear: another bloody battle is in the works in the Indian telecom business.

This time, the bone of contention is radio spectrum frequency, a scarce natural resource used by telecommunications and broadcasting service providers to transmit data or voice. Yet again the war is between the two competing mobile technology platforms, GSM and CDMA.

The dispute is over the frequency band at which each technology group will provide 3g (third generation) services that will offer high-end Internet applications on mobile phones at 200 times faster than the current speeds (see That GSM vs. CDMA Thing Again). To cut to the gist, the CDMA lobby wants the 1900 mhz band and the GSM lobby fears this will interfere with their proposed 3g services on the 2000 mhz band, and says CDMA operators should be given the 1800 mhz band. Both sides have their arguments laid out.

"I will lose my bargaining power with vendors and it would make a bad business case even if they agree to make equipments for the 800 and 1800 mhz combination," says an executive at a top CDMA operator. He goes on to say that globally (mainly the us, Canada and Brazil) CDMA operates in the 800 and 1900 mhz band, ergo equipment is available. But the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents GSM players, says allocating the 1900 mhz band to the CDMA would be "against" International Telecommunications Union standards (the CDMA lobby denies this) and that this would block the migration of GSM players to 3g services in the 2000 mhz band.

Dayanidhi Maran Minister, IT & Communi-cations Maran's sympathies, unlike his predecessors', are reportedly with the GSM lobby	Nripendra Misra Secretary, DoT Misra wants everyone to wait for the spectrum policy that he will deliver by March 15	Pradip Baijal Chairman, TRAI Baijal's recommen-dations are awaited but he is likely to go with the CDMA lobby	A.K. Sinha CMD, BSNL The state-owned operator's preference could have some say on the policy	Mukesh Ambani CEO, Reliance Infocomm Lobbying is out; His hands are full fending off salvos from his brother, Anil	Sunil Mittal CEO, Bharti Tele-Ventures His company has over 10 million subscribers for its GSM service and Mittal himself is no pushover

In the past, the CDMA lobby, its cause championed by Reliance Infocomm, has always had the last laugh, but if the current situation is any indication, the regulator (TRAI) and DoT seem to be in rival camps, with the GSM lobby acquiring more clout with the latter. The present DOT under Maran, telecom industry watchers say, is not pleasantly disposed towards Reliance and the CDMA lobby. That could explain why the GSM lobby isn't unduly worried. "We have faith in DOT and the minister Dayanidhi Maran," says COAI's Director General T.V. Ramachandran. However, telecom secretary Misra says, "We have constituted a committee to look into the spectrum requirements for 3g, which would take a technology-neutral stand. It must also not result in monopoly of any technology."

Fact is, the GSM lobby, which accounts for about 40 million subscribers is no pushover. And fact is, Reliance, the company that made a difference in past disputes (getting its and the CDMA lobby's way each time) is currently not best placed to lobby, given the battle between Mukesh Ambani and his brother Anil. Despite that, the spectrum war is likely to be as severe as the limited mobility controversy. Also playing a part are the equipment manufacturers, with Qualcomm (it has proprietary rights over CDMA), Lucent and Motorola batting for CDMA camp, and Siemens, Alcatel and Ericsson for GSM. It promises to be interesting.