TDSAT asks telcos how to cover govt loss on 3G roaming

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Thursday asked private operators, who are opposing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) directive to scrap their 3G roaming pacts, to explain how they would compensate the government if they lose the case.

“If this petition is dismissed, is there any way the government can be compensated?,” asked the bench headed by Justice S B Sinha. It has sought their submissions by Friday, when the hearing resumes. Meanwhile, senior counsel C S Vaidyanathan and Ramji Srinivasan representing Tata Teleservices suggested to the tribunal that “a separate licence fee could be paid” to DoT to compensate for its losses.

In an interim order on December 24, TDSAT had directed the DoT not to take any coercive action against the operators for their 3G roaming pacts. Due to interim protection granted to the telecom firms, the government and the state-owned BSNL are suffering losses.