Christmas Cheer For 3G Telcos

The ban on 3G roaming slapped by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been stayed. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) decided upon the matter at a special hearing on Saturday, after Bharti Airtel, Essar Vodafone, and Idea Cellular challenged the earlier DoT ruling that 3G roaming agreements between the three were illegal.

TDSAT has asked the DoT to not take any action against the above operators until the next hearing on 3rd January. The point in contention was that the DoT had failed to make it clear at the time of bidding for the 3G spectrum that intra-circle 3G roaming was illegal. No operator was able to procure 3G licences for the entire country, and hence had to resort to agreements with each other to enable national 3G roaming for their subscribers. The ban would have effectively crippled the 3G facility of all the above providers, since they would have been able to provide the service only in their respective circles.

All hopes are now pinned on the January hearing, when the dispute tribunal will deliver the final verdict. Who do you think should win: the DoT or the 3G operators?