Following a judgement by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) which allows 3G intra-circle roaming (ICR); operators including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India have resumed 3G services in circles where they do not hold 3G spectrum.
Bharti Airtel has resumed 3G services in eight circles – Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh (East). The 3G service is currently available for prepaid customers in these circles through various 3G roaming packs. The operator will shortly rollout 3G service in these circles for its post-paid customers as well.
Meanwhile, Idea Cellular has resumed 3G services through ICR agreements across 10 circles – Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kolkata and West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Assam and North-East. With the service resumption, Idea Cellular subscribers will be able to access 3G services across 22 circles in the country. Both the post- and pre-paid customers of the operator will be able to access 3G services while roaming. Going forward, Idea Cellular plans to extend 3G services to two additional circles ? Punjab and Delhi during 2014-15 by using 900 MHz spectrum.
Like its counterpart Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular, Vodafone India too has started offering 3G services through ICRs in 11 circles. These circles include Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh (West), Bihar, Assam and North- East. The service will be available for both prepaid and post-paid Vodafone India customers.
