Major telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, Vodafone
and Idea Cellular have moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate
Tribunal (TDSAT) on Friday against the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT)
decision to stop 3G mobile services through roaming arrangements.
The companies moved the TDSAT for a stay challenging the
DoT’s decision. A special hearing is expected tomorrow, since the court would
be closed for the winter vacations from next week.
DoT on Friday sent notices to Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to stop 3G services immediately in circles
where they don’t hold the spectrum. However, it has not taken any decision on
the subsequent action or penalty on the operators, DoT secretary R
Chandrashekhar said yesterday.
DoT has sought the operators’ response within 24 hours.
Airtel in a statement
said the decision would impact the much-needed investments for the sector and
dent the credibility of the government. We are shocked at the arbitrary
decision. It is a retrograde step and would adversely impact the proliferation
of broadband penetration, depriving millions in rural and urban India from
affordable and quality telecom services,” the statement said.
According to these operators, the decision was illegal as
it came months after the company informed the department of launching the
services. They would take appropriate action to protect their and the
consumers’ interest, and criticized DoT for sending notice late on Friday as
they can only approach court on working days.
We received the notification from DoT after normal
business hours on Friday. We think the decision is completely unreasonable. As
stated earlier, the 3G roaming agreements that Vodafone has entered into with
other operators are in complete compliance with all the government regulations
and this issue was specifically clarified by DoT before the 3G auction was
held. Now, to completely reverse the stand, is irrational. It would affect
millions of customers, and we think it is a retrograde step,” said Vodafone in
a statement.
We are deeply dismayed at DoT’s decision to declare the
intra-circle roaming agreement for 3G services as illegal. The agreements
between the operators are in accordance to the existing license conditions and
prior explicit written clarifications received from DoT, before the auction. It
is unfortunate that the terms on which auctions were conducted are not being
implemented with integrity and sincerity. It is not only a breach of trust, but
also an act that is expected to adversely impact half the base of mobile users’
investors’ sentiments,” said Idea Cellular in a statement.
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
