The Telecom Ministry has slammed service providers for allegedly breaching the license norm, by entering into 3G roaming agreements. The ministry has asked the operators to discontinue the agreements and threatened to impose hefty penalties as well. The government’s latest move is a serious jolt to the telecom operators, who have been attempting to boost revenue after shelling out crores of rupees to gain the 3G license. The government decision comes after telecom regulatory body TRAI, Law Ministry and DoT unanimously said that the roaming agreements between the operators breached the telecom license guidelines.
Earlier, the telecom operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea had entered into agreement with each other to provide 3G services in circles where they did not own the spectrum license. “The decision has been taken that this [3G roaming pacts] is in violation of terms and conditions of the licence… will be issuing notices asking them [operators] to stop their service with immediate effect. But on penalty, no decision has been taken yet,” telecom secretary Mr R Chandrasekhar said.
Service providers such as Tata Teleservices and Aircel had entered into similar partnerships in six circles but had to discontinue the agreement later. The DoT in one of its internal notes pointed out that such agreement could lead to a significant loss of revenue to the government. However, the department then sought law ministry’s opinion on the matter. The telecom regulatory body TRAI has also opposed the present agreements between the operators, dubbing them as violation of license norms.
The move is likely to irk the telecom operators, who have previously threatened to surrender their 3G licenses. The telecom firms including Airtel, Idea and Vodafone have also called for prime minister’s intervention in the matter.
Also read,
- Reliance Industries to offer Rs 10/GB 4G plans with its low-cost tablets
- Idea Cellular adds over 15 lakh new subscribers via MNP
- TRAI to recommend blocking lost, stolen mobile phones
Vote and Win!
Digit Icons of Trust 2011 Survey
Visit http://thinkdigit.com/trust to vote for your favorite tech brands in India.
Survey participation gives you a chance to win exciting gifts like wireless input devices, earphones and special edition Digit branded T-shirts.
As an appreciation of your valuable time and input, every participant will receive an assured gift in the form of Digit discount vouchers.
We encourage you to participate in multiple surveys to increase your chances of winning more goodies.