The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has adjourned the 3G roaming agreements case to until Jan 17, 2012, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has requested for a copy of the agreements signed between operators.
DoT has stated that as the licensor, it is vital that it be provided a copy, which has already been provided to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Prior to this, DoT had challenged TDSAT’s jurisdiction over the matter and said that the tribunal cannot hear any petition which alters licence conditions.
A two-judge bench said that the hearing on both the issues (whether a copy of the agreements should be provided to DoT and if the TDSAT had the jurisdiction to decide on the 3G roaming issue) will be discussed Jan 17, 2012.
The issue is centered on the roaming agreements signed between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to offer 3G services in areas where they did not have 3G spectrum.
DoT had asked these operators to terminate the 3G roaming agreements, on grounds that these agreements were illegal and would lead to a significant loss of revenue to the government.
Thereafter, the operators had approached the tribunal challenging DoT?s order on grounds that it would impact customers and investments in the sector.
