DoT asks MTNL to defer its plans to ink roaming agreements with private players

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to defer its plans to ink roaming deals with private players for 3G services.

DoT wants MTNL to stall its plans until the Government decides whether such deals are permitted under licence conditions.

Currently, operators have inked roaming agreements in circles where they do not hold 3G spectrum. They are also selling connections in such circles by using the other operator’s network and spectrum.

So, it is believed that DoT plans to examine if such an arrangement is tantamount to spectrum sharing, which is not permitted under the licence conditions.