3G intra-circle roaming: SC refuses to stay TDSAT order

DoT had opposed the 2010 agreement between Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to offer 3G roaming services within their circles

The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to stay a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) order allowing operators to offer third generation (3G) services in circles in which they didn’t have the required spectrum.

The apex court’s decision follows a petition by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) challenging the TDSAT order. All transactions would, however, be subject to the court’s final decision, the Supreme Court added.

In 2011, the DoT had banned 3G intra-circle roaming. But operators decided to offer 3G services through roaming agreements in circles where they didn’t have 2,100-MHz spectrum.

DoT had imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs  1,200 crore on three operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular — for providing 3G services outside their licensed telecom zones. In its order, TDSAT had quashed the penalties. An earlier order had barred companies from acquiring new subscribers in circles where they didn’t have 3G spectrum, resulting in a fall of about 30 per cent in their data revenue, according to industry estimates.

Now, Bharti, Vodafone and Idea can offer pan-India 3G services to customers across circles, despite the fact that these don’t have the requisite 2,100-MHz spectrum in all circles.

Bharti Airtel has 3G spectrum in 13 of the 22 telecom circles, while Vodafone has this spectrum in nine circles and Idea Cellular in 11.