Mobile companies can be asked to return the 3G spectrum if the roaming agreement between them is found to be illegal by the Department of Telecom. While three units within the DoT and the telecom regulator have already said that the 3G roaming arrangement was not in line with the licence conditions, the department is now taking a legal view before deciding on the next course of action.
“The terms of offering 3G services clearly state that spectrum assignment may also be revoked if the DoT determines the user of spectrum to be in serious breach of any conditions. In case of less serious breaches, the licensor may impose penalties at its discretion,” a senior DoT official said adding that once the legal opinion is taken, the Telecom Ministry will take a decision on the exact penalty to be imposed on the operators.
If this happens, mobile companies, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices and Aircel could be in big trouble as they had shelled out billions of dollars to buy the 3G airwaves.
The operators themselves have offered to return the spectrum if DoT would not allow them to get into roaming arrangements. But, they want a refund of the money. If DoT revokes the spectrum, then, they may forfeit the money as well which, in turn, will lead to litigation.
Roaming pacts
Industry analysts speculate that DoT may not take the extreme step and impose a penalty instead on the operators with the rider that they should discontinue the roaming arrangement till the Government formulates policies on spectrum sharing and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO).
The current licence rules permit operators to go in for roaming agreements to allow users to get seamless coverage as they move from one circle to another. But in the case of 3G services, operators are selling connections even where they do not have spectrum.
The Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell of the DoT had earlier said that action must be taken against those operators that have entered into such roaming deals, whereby a mobile operator without 3G spectrum is able to offer services. The Wireless Planning & Coordination wing, which is responsible for spectrum management, also termed the so-called roaming arrangement as illegal. TRAI, in its report on the issue, said such an arrangement was not only causing loss to the national exchequer but also affecting the quality of 3G services offered to consumers.
The operators, on their part, have defended their action by saying that DoT itself had clarified before the 3G auction that intra-circle roaming will be permitted. But the key question is whether selling 3G connections directly to customers in circles where the operators do not have spectrum can be termed as roaming or whether it is tantamount to spectrum sharing.