India’s Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has restrained the telecom ministry from taking any “coercive” steps until Jan. 3 against the telecom companies for entering into 3G roaming pacts.
The telcos had jointly appealed to the TDSAT against the ministry’s order. The ministry, last week, had asked the telecom operators to discontinue their agreements. The ministry’s decision came after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Department of Telecom and the Law Ministry said such agreements violate the terms and conditions of the telecom licenses these companies hold.
Tata Teleservices and Aircel recently scrapped their roaming agreement for offering services in each other’s circles. Other operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular too have entered into such deals.
These private players entered into 3G roaming deals with each other to offer services in areas for which they have not paid any license fees. Only government-owned MTNL and BSNL have acquired pan-India licenses for offering 3G services. Private telecom players like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, Reliance Telecom, Tata Teleservices and Aircel only bid for selective circles.
