Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Vodafone India have asked telecom minister Kapil Sibal to clarify uncertainties regarding 3G intra circle roaming.
In a letter seen by TelecomFinance, the CEOs of those four companies have expressed…
Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Vodafone India have asked telecom minister Kapil Sibal to clarify uncertainties regarding 3G intra circle roaming.
In a letter seen by TelecomFinance, the CEOs of those four companies have expressed concerns about reports suggesting that the 3G agreements, allowing them to provide services even in circles where they do not have 3G spectrum, are illegal.
“Given that we have full-fledged UASLs [Unified Access Service Licences] in all concerned service areas, it is preposterous to allege that we are acting as MVNOs!” the CEOs say in the letter. “Similarly, terming 3G ICR [intra circle roaming] as spectrum sharing when spectrum is owned and managed only by the roaming provider is outrageous.”
They added the companies that bid for 3G frequencies in 2010 should either be refunded or that a new auction should be held, if the pacts were found to be unlawful.
“Assured by both our licence conditions and the explicit prior written clarification before the 3G auction from DoT [Department of Telecommunications], bidding in the 3G auction took place on the clear understanding that arrangements are legal and permissible.
“Any determination now that this might not be the case would fundamentally alter the legal and economic basis on which the business case for 3G bids was evaluated, inevitably leading to a requirement to either refund to the bidders or re-run the auctions.”
A few weeks ago, it had been reported that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was seeking clarifications from the DoT to determine whether these agreements would be equivalent to spectrum sharing or MVNOs, both of which are currently not allowed.
Local media suggested at the time that the companies could face fines of up to Rs500m (US$10m) for every circle where they have entered into roaming agreements, were they proved illegal.
