DoT asks local units to check compliance of roaming order

The Department of Telecom has asked its local units across the country to ensure that mobile companies are not selling 3G connections in areas where they do not have spectrum. 

The Supreme Court had earlier told Bharti Airtel not to add any new 3G subscribers in areas where it did not have spectrum. The apex court had also told the Government not to take any coercive steps against the company till the matter is heard. 

The DoT has held back its penalty order but has sought a report from its monitoring units in different regions on whether mobile companies are selling 3G connections. Mobile companies could face more penalties if DoT finds that they are still taking on new subscribers. 

The DoT had issued orders on March 15 to stop 3G services in seven circles where Airtel did not have spectrum. The seven circles are Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh East and Kerala. DoT had also issued a penalty notice for Rs 350 crore. This was challenged by the operator in the High Court, which declined to stay the DoT order. The company then approached the Supreme Court for relief. 

Airtel had entered into an intra-circle roaming agreement with Idea Cellular and Vodafone to offer 3G services across the country using one another’s spectrum. This was because none of these players had won pan-India spectrum individually. 

According to the DoT, though roaming is permitted, such an intra-circle arrangement cannot be used to sell 3G connections in areas where the operators do not have spectrum.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/2275-dot-asks-local-units-to-check-compliance-of-roaming-order.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/telecom-news/item/2275-dot-asks-local-units-to-check-compliance-of-roaming-order.html