DoT tells operators to stop 3G roaming, recommends penalty

Operators offering third-generation services (3G) on roaming will have to stop these immediately, according to a committee of the department of telecommunications (DoT). The committee, in its report released on Friday, recommended that service providers stop 3G roaming forthwith and also pay a penalty of Rs 50 crore per service area for violating licence norms.

The DoT committee was set up to examine 3G roaming services being offered by operators by entering into agreements with each other.

On September 28, 2012, DoT had issued a notice to Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom operator by subscriber base, asking it to stop offering 3G roaming. Airtel moved the high court to challenge DoT notice. In its plea, Airtel alleged DoT’s notice was contrary to the interim orders passed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The court asked DoT not to take any coercive action against Airtel until the next hearing.

Later, in December 2012, DoT slapped a similar notice on Vodafone and Idea Cellular, asking them to stop 3G roaming services outside their licensed service areas.

According to the notice, Vodafone and Idea were to pay penalties of Rs 450 crore and Rs 550 crore, respectively, for their alleged violation of licence norms.

The High Court asked the DoT to take the operators’ views and re-examine the matter, following which the DoT formed a committee to look into the issue. However, the committee’s recommendations reiterate DoT’s earlier stand on the issue.

In its notice to Airtel, DoT had asked the operator to stop 3G services in seven circles — Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh (East), Kolkata, Gujarat, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. Bharti Airtel will have to pay a penalty of Rs 350 crore, according to the latest recommendation of DoT committee.

Airtel currently offers 3G services outside its licensed zones through intra-circle roaming pacts with Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

Airtel, Vodafone and Idea had won 3G airwaves in 13, nine and 11 circles, respectively.

Tata Teleservices and Aircel had also forged the 3G roaming agreement, but had stopped the same after DoT began investigation on the matter in 2011.