Click to play videoNew Delhi: Major telecom firms Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have threatened to exit 3G services if the Government does not approve their pact to provide intra-circle roaming.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Birla and Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao have written a joint letter to the Prime Minister.
In the letter, they said, "...in the event that 3G Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) is now deemed impermissible, then, it would be a clear breach of our contract and the pre-auction confirmation given by the Government."
They want a refund of the 3G spectrum payments if intra-circle roaming is not allowed. The letter also asked for a refund of the auction payment with interest as well as compensation for all capital investments made in 3G.
"In that eventuality, we request that our spectrum auction payments be refunded to us with interest (as) compensation for all the capital investment made by us," said the letter.
The roaming pact between the three companies allowed them to provide 3G services in circles where they do not hold a licence.
Telecom watchdog TRAI said this is a violation of the terms of the licence with serious financial implications for the Government.
In the auction for 3G spectrum, held last year which had fetched over Rs 68,000 crore for the government, the operators had won certain circles. Later, they entered into roaming pacts with each other for circles in which they could not win the bid.
The letter asks the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter.
"We seek your most urgent intervention to ensure that contract and promises are honoured, otherwise the reputation of an acclaimed, transparent auction, will be harmed irreparably," the trio said.
Besides these players, others like Tatas and Aircel have also entered into similar agreements for various circles.
"It may be noted that our licences were specifically amended in 2008 to incorporate the right to do Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR), without any caveat or restriction of technology and or spectrum," the trio said in the letter.
Recently, the Law Ministry too had supported the DoT's view that such spectrum-sharing agreements among service providers are in violation of licensing norms and conditions.
"We are completely astonished to hear that the Government is now considering a reversal of its earlier stated position and seeking to question the legally or permissibility of 3G ICR arrangement. This tantamounts to reneging on the Government's promises ...and the confirmations provided before the 3G auction," it added.
The DoT took up the issue after regulator TRAI had prima facie came to conclusion that such agreements are in violation of the terms and conditions of the telecom licences.
However, defending the 3G roaming agreements between telecom operators, the GSM lobby Cellular Operators Association of India had said they did not violate the Unified Access Services Licence (UASL) under which service providers can offer all services.
(With additional information from PTI)
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