DoT files a petition against TDSAT’s verdict on 3G roaming in Supreme Court

Department of Telecom (DoT) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) against telecom tribunal’s verdict that allowed Airtel, Idea and Vodafone to offer 3G services under a roaming arrangement in areas where not all of them own 3G spectrum. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had reversed DoT's ban on telecom operators providing 3G services beyond their licensed zones through roaming pacts, citing it was in national interest in allowing better utilizations of scare radio frequency.

The judgment was a welcome development for three operators, namely Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular who faced a penalty of Rs 1,200 crore for entering into pacts with each other to offer 3G services in regions where these operators did not win spectrum in the 2010 auction. However, following the judgment, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea extended service under their 3G ICR at pan-India level except Odisha. Presently, DoT has sent petition to Supreme Court registry around a week ago for appeal against the judgment dated April 29 on 3G intra-circle roaming.

This development doesn’t come as much of surprise as reports earlier too suggested that DOT was mulling to take this case to SC and was just about waiting for the new government to take control after the general elections.