It?s a bad news for the mobile operators with the law ministry declaring 3G intra-circle roaming pacts as illegal. ?The opinion of the law ministry is same as that of department of telecommunications (DoT). These services are inconsistent with the terms and conditions of the notice inviting applications (NIA) and secondly there are security issues in such agreements since legal interception is not possible?, DoT secretary R Chandrasekhar told FE.
Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar had entered into roaming pacts wherein each would latch on to another?s 3G network in circles where the company didn?t have its own 3G spectrum. Through such an arrangement the mobile operator would be able to provide 3G services to its subscribers in a circle where it hadn?t won any spectrum. While the three mobile operators have contended that the NIA for 3G spectrum auction clearly permitted such agreements, state-owned BSNL has strongly contested it. Since BSNL had to compulsorily dole out R10,187 crore for the spectrum across all the 22 circles, while the three private telecom operators chose the circles and have now teamed up to share it amongst themselves.
Though Chandrasekhar didn?t comment on whether the intra-circle roaming pacts would be banned, if the roaming pacts are declared illegal the industry will be hit by losses of close to R 2,000 crore according to the industry estimates.
The law ministry?s opinion vetted by the law secretary DR Meena and the law minister Salman Khurshid a copy of which is with FE says, ?3G spectrum was separately auctioned and 3G services were to be provided only after getting the USAL 2G licence amended to include the 3G service?. Concurring with the opinion of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the DoT member (services) and member (technology), the law ministry has said that the three operators Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar are offering 3G services using 3G spectrum in circles that they were never allocated and that this has also caused huge revenue loss to the country??.
Commenting upon the security complications of intra-circle roaming pact, Chandrasekhar said, ?In case an operator uses another operator?s network to provide the 3G services, it doesn?t possess the required 3G interception facilities and is using the other operator?s apparatus. This issue also needs to be resolved and we are looking into the matter?.