3G roaming: A relief for telcos till Jan 3

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Telecom tribunal, Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Saturday stopped the department of telecom (DoT) from revoking the 3G roaming pacts between operators. The tribunal has directed the telcos to submit their roaming agreements on January 3, 2012.

As the DoT geared up to take action against the private operators for flouting the regulations, the companies-- Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone-- submitted their plea to TDSAT to refrain government for taking action.

The government had issued notices to the companies to stop 3G services in the areas where they do not have permission to offer high speed data services.

The operators–Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-- forged an alliance themselves while Tata Teleservices entered into a deal with Aircel, for 3G roaming services.

This allows the companies to share 3G spectrum in the areas where they don't have their presence and offer high-speed Internet and other services to subscribers.

The tribunal is empowered to take a decision that shall be binding to the operators and DoT, but its order can be challenged in higher court of law.

The DoT, after obtaining the legal view, termed these agreements as illegal to their licensing terms and was all set to take legal action against errant operators.

The affected firms wrote to the telecom minister Kapil Sibal and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.