Roaming agreements illegal; terminate pacts, DoT tells telcos
22 Dec 2011
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) today said that the 3G roaming agreements between operators violate existing telecom regulations and must be discontinued, while the licensor might impose penalties on operators for entering into 3G roaming services.
DoT had sought a legal opinion on the roaming agreements and both the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and law ministry had supported its view.
Communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal had also said that the operators will not be allowed to offer the services under existing laws.
Leading operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular had entered into roaming pacts to offer 3G mobile services in circles where they don't have spectrum.
"The decision has been taken and 3G roaming pacts are in violation of terms and conditions of the telecom licence. DoT will issue notices asking the operators to stop their service with immediate effect, DoT Secretary R Chandrasekhar said.
"But on penalty, no decision has been taken yet," he added.
.webp)
.webp)
