DoT has asked Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to stop its 3G Roaming via ICRA in non 3G circles with in 24 hours and have given a deadline which will end on Saturday 3 PM.
Now Vodafone India respond to the same and issued a official statement stating “We received the notification from DoT after normal business hours today. “We think that this decision of DoT is completely unreasonable.”
“As stated earlier, the 3G roaming agreements that Vodafone has entered into with other operators are in complete compliance with all Government rules and regulations and this issue was specifically clarified by DoT before the 3G auction was held. Based on this clarification, we went into the auction in good faith.”
“Now, to completely reverse the stand, is totally irrational. It is going to affect millions of our customers adversely and we think it is a retrograde step by DoT. Also, giving a notice at this late hour with courts having gone on vacation from this afternoon is totally arbitrary. We will take suitable course of action to protect our and our consumers’ interest.”
So as a consumer what’s your take on this issue ?
Rajappan January 11, 2012 at 11:57 am
I am using a prepaid vodafone on my blackberry phone. For the past 2 months (november and december 2011) the signal bar keeps showing SOS. When I checked “Manage Connections” i see that my vodafone sim has connected to the airtel network. I tried replacing the sim card, many modifications of the settings and many complaints and visits to the vodafone store. THIS IS HAPPENING DUE TO THE ILLEGAL VODAFONE AIRTEL INTEROPERABILITY AGREEMENT.
Saptarshi Roy December 30, 2011 at 6:32 pm
Sir, are you aware of the fact that since the year 2000, after BSNL was incorporated, the company has been steadily running into losses year after year and also it’s revenue and net income are going down steadily. People may argue that private operators are not increasing their tariff due to BSNL but then one cannot run into losses year after year and people should be willing to pay in order to receive an acceptable level of service. I am from Kolkata and I remember that in the year 2003, BSNL SIM cards were sold in black after they launched their services in Kolkata. BSNL prepaid connections were selling like hotcakes but look at it now. Are we buying BSNL SIM cards in black now? No, because people are frustrated with their ‘quality of service’. And one more thing; BSNL is in no way preventing us from being pushed over to the private operators. They are doing just the opposite. Need proof? Walk into a telephone exchange and see how the “babus” talk to you and see how much care and affection you receive from them and then compare it with the private operators. We are the tax payers of this country and we cannot bear to see our hard earned money going into the coffers of the ‘sick-industries’ who doesn’t care for it’s own survival. The “BSNL babu’s” don’t care about 1G, 2G or 3G. They are just concerned about the fat government salary at the end of the month. Don’t let the word “government” fool you my friend. Just pay the price and be happy with the service; else use MNP.
Abhijith December 26, 2011 at 7:26 am
Abhijith December 25, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Am with Bsnl Nothing better than that . . .
anonymus December 25, 2011 at 10:35 am
bsnl ko koi free ka spectrum nahi mila(both 3G & 2G)…..think before you write
dskushwaha December 24, 2011 at 11:52 pm
True!!!
only BSNL does not activates unwanted VAS. I can’t understand the reason, but even after having best network/system engg. with pvt. operators as compared to old staff of BSNL how pvt. operators system malfunctions and sucks the money out of customer. (but they never accept this malfunctionality).
BSNL network is unmatched (in terms of reach). It reaches where pvt. telecom engg. have never gone.
BSNL never give SIM at throw away prices (TT of 150 @ Rs. 20 only by pvt. operators), and that makes its customers permanent.
3G December 24, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Haha …biggest comedy…it may be the case with your circle…
But dear friend,
-BSNL’s tariff plan is lower than Idea/Airtel/Vodafone.
-In transparency, BSNL is the best, No unwarranted activations.
-Best Coverage.
Its only because of BSNL, that these TelCos Idea/Airtel/Vodafone are not increasing the Tariff. Once BSNL is out of market these 3 would increase their Tariff atleast by 50-75 %…
Ashu December 24, 2011 at 10:16 pm
BSNL a black spot of INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR. BSNL is that foolish company which doesn’t know how to serve its customers. In Rajasthan Telecom Circle BSNL has poor network, a lazy customer care(May be whole India) and too costly tarrif plan, and last of too foolish thing in bsnl that they generate wrong bills. and Still you are saying it is pride of INDIA..haha..Lolx. @Zeeshan
COOLBUDDY December 24, 2011 at 6:40 pm
In andhra pradesh
towns are covered only by idea 3g and airtel 3g
Bsnl 3g expansion is pathetic compared to airtel and idea
aircel has very limited like 8-10cities.
Atleast intracircle roaming allows customer on vodafone enjoy 3g service
Both Govt fooled players by hiking auction rates and pvt operators fooled govt by icra.
Telecom ministry should have thought about cost of 3g to customers if such high rates are offered in bidding
For eg: for delhi and Mumbai,only Voda,Airtel,Reliance got 3g liecenses. So finally customers are made fools by forcing them to get a new number or port to one of these network. Overthe time,ONLY these players will remain in the Delhi and Mumbai, ISnt that monopoly??
Jan December 24, 2011 at 4:58 pm
You are ryt….it seems tata docomo has stopped 3G expansion. Even the newly deployed BTS’ are of 2G – only.
Saurabh December 24, 2011 at 4:35 pm
@Rajive Borde
I have already read this article few days back as I daily visit TOI and ET.
You just copied this coverage information from BSNL website but you are not aware of ground reality.
Bahadurgarh, Jind, Ambala, Karnal, Kurushetra, Hisar, Hansi, Sonipat, Sirsa, Kaithal, Panipat, Fatehabad, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Kalka, Jhajjar, Palwal,Yamunanagar, Mahendergarh, Manesar, Narnaul, Dharuhera and Rewari, these all are districts and yes BSNL do have coverage in these 24 dists and nearby areas within 4-5Kms radius but no town has been added to 3G network by BSNL in the last . We have 200+ Taluka/Towns here and not even 10 taluka’s or towns have been covered under 3G by BSNL.
Take an Example of Ambala Dist constituting of main towns towns i.e Naraingarh, Barara, Babiyal, Kardhan, Ambala City and Ambala Cantt. BSNL is providing 3G in city area of Ambala city and Cantt only and rest of the places with more than 50-70 thousand population/town is 3G-less.
3G in Ambala doesn’t mean it is available everywhere i.e in every single town and village in that district.
But Idea 3G is available in all these 6 areas. Vodafone- 3 out of 6 except Babiyal, Naraingarh and Barara. Tata Docomo- Only in Ambala City and Cantt. with 6 3G BTS only.
This is the reality.
Abhijit December 24, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Totally Agreed… Here in Maharashtra circle also same policy…
BSNL has covered all District places & Taluka level places and some near by towns which are closer to Taluka or District places way back in October 2010. but after that no single new place have been added by BSNL..
Tata Docomo launched 3G only in big cities which are Municipal corporation area in last year after that no 3G rollout at all…
Vodafone also launched 3G only at few big cities but now going ahead of Docomo 3G coverage..
Idea is only operator rolling out 3G at very faster rate and has covered many villages also where still BSNL 3G is not present…
So In Maharashtra only with Idea & BSNL we can get wider coverage…
Vodafone covering at very slow rate…
Docomo is very Worst no news of any expansion of their 3G network…
In my Home town which holds more than 2.5lakhs population but only has BSNL 3G & Idea 3G.. BSNL 3G is available since August 2010 and Idea 3G launched recently in Nov 2011..
But no sign of Vodafone & Docomo 3G at all…
Abhijit December 24, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Very Well Said and totally agreed.. Here in Mumbai also Videocon is very much Happy to provide services on Loop Mobile network from last 1 and half years!!! Videocon has its own IND 836 on air from last 6 months but still no access to that but have to select Loop network…
Rajive Borde December 24, 2011 at 3:10 pm
BSNL 3G Coverage in Haryana (Towns and Cities) –> Bahadurgarh, Jind, Ambala, Karnal, Kurushetra, Hisar, Hansi, Sonipat, Sirsa, Kaithal, Panipat, Fatehabad, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Kalka, Jhajjar, Palwal,Yamunanagar, Mahendergarh, Manesar, Narnaul, Dharuhera and Rewari.
BSNL also invited tenders for further expansion of 3g network check this http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-12-21/news/30542791_1_tender-gsm-telecoms
Saurabh December 24, 2011 at 3:00 pm
@atanu
@Fahad
I just posted their licensed areas. Nothing else.
@dskushwaha
These operators have launched 3G in their licensed areas but coverage is limited to cities only and more than 60% of area is still not covered by them.
Take an example: 4 operators have license for Haryana i.e BSNL, Idea, Vodafone, Tata Docomo
BSNL is not coming to towns.
Idea has more coverage than any other.
Vodafone expansion is too slow and services limited to district areas.
Tata Docomo forgot after Nov 4, 2010 that they have to expand also. Not a single mile being added. 75% of BTS with no 3G.
Nilanjan December 24, 2011 at 2:47 pm
You are wright Kankan,Only BSNL saves us from private operator,You live in India,BSNL is a govt company,so no one retake spectrum from bsnl…..
Boss December 24, 2011 at 12:43 pm
@Zeeshan
Wrng info abt vodafone
Jagan T December 24, 2011 at 12:42 pm
- Govt. makes lot of money by selling 3G licenses, but no benefit of users —-> Idiotic
- Cartel made backdoor agreement and evade Govt prices ——> Greedy
- A common Telecom user wish to use 3G services now ———–> A FOOL.
Indian Telecom is one of the most abused industry in the world by stupid Govt policies and Greedy operators.
kankan December 24, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Very good ashu you want that we are paying for incoming calls also because in the absence of govt. operator these private company completely eat your money.
Fahad December 24, 2011 at 12:06 pm
From where u got this info… get yourself corrected and then post such comments.. For your info…
Idea and airtel both have launched their 3g services in j&k…
i bet that your info is a copy paste material posted somewhere months back… Lol
Zeeshan December 24, 2011 at 11:55 am
Reliance has launched its 3G services. It has its own 3G network and has covered more than 60 cities in MP and CG.
atanu December 24, 2011 at 11:50 am
i think you take the information from telecomtalk.info fact is that they already launched 3G in kolkata and west bengal, also mumbai and delhi. fact is that 3G coverage details page not update a long time.
first get proper information then talk like this.
singh December 24, 2011 at 11:49 am
+++++++++1
dskushwaha December 24, 2011 at 11:26 am
Yes! you are right. Here is a list of 3G operators who have got 3G license but not launched services in their areas:
Operators: (launched/license) licensed circles where services are not launched.
Docomo: (9/9) Launched in all licensed circles
Aircel: (11/12) West Bengal
Airtel: (09/12) Andhra Pradesh, Himanchal Pradesh, J&K,
Vodafone: (1/9) Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Kolkata, Maharashtra & Goa, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal
Reliance: (12/13) Madhya Pradesh,
Idea: (08/11) Andhra Pradesh, J&K, Punjab
You can see from the above list Vodafone is the biggest culprit. Got license in 9 circles and launched services in just 1 licensed area.
Zeeshan December 24, 2011 at 11:23 am
Think twice before saying anything regarding the pride of Indian telecom sector. @Ashu
Jitu December 24, 2011 at 11:16 am
i hate vodafone
Firsr Gud move by DoT.
Ashu December 24, 2011 at 11:11 am
DOT should retake spectrum from bsnl. and give that to private players. BSNL does not deserves to be in INDIAN TELECOM SECTOR..!
Tushar Gaikwad December 24, 2011 at 11:07 am
This move is good to teach the Private Operators a lesson, so they will not find any more loopholes in the system for their benefit.
It will help BSNL gain prospective 3G customers as it is the only operator with national 3G license….and the other operators should stop the illegal sale of 3G products in states where they don’t hold a license….
popop December 24, 2011 at 10:34 am
very gud move by DOT.. to teach these private cheaters a good lesson…
250 rs for 250 MB.. wtf is this..
Amar Patel December 24, 2011 at 10:02 am
Vodafone start to sell 3G product at Jaipur,Rajasthan but they have no license for 3G in Rajasthan. It is totaly cheating. Aitel also started 3G product sell in Gujarat where they have no license for 3G. 3G is very costly to use. MTS only give high speed net with reasonable rate.
Fahad December 24, 2011 at 10:00 am
They should stop their 3g services and ask for complete refund …
whatever u ppl think , maybe right or wrong but as a customer i feel i m going to suffer as i have to rely for using 3g on any other operator for using 3g services…
I don’t want my operator to be immature in any way like no 3g services…
Whatever dot did maybe right but was anti consumer move actually…
About bsnl their 3g license should be canceled atleast in my circle….
I’ve never seen such a pathetic operator providing biased services in the name of 3g…
Literally the operators were trapped during the auction…
To hell with DOT…
ap December 24, 2011 at 9:51 am
i am a vodafone customer from kar.if the icra is cancelled.i cant be able to use 3g here.moreover i cant be able to use vodafone 3g in maharashtra where it is having 3g spectrum becoz there wil not be any tariff plan to use 3g.so a bullshit move by dot
Saurabh December 24, 2011 at 9:12 am
@Raaj
Who says Vodafone is right?
Vodafone has 3G license for 9 circles namely Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Haryana, UP(E), West Bengal and if you check their website and 3G coverage section, this is what you will see,
For Kerala, AP, MP&CG, UPW, HP,J&K; select Idea 3G
For Karnataka, UPW, Rajasthan, Bihar, Assam & NE; select Airtel 3G.
So they are providing 3G services in 11 circles without having license and spectrum which is illegal.
They are not even rolling out 3G services at a pace where they have 3G license like in Haryana. Still 15 cities/towns covered and 3G is not available in some districts level areas also. They should cover their licensed areas first.
You know what one of Vodafone customer care representative told me??? He said, “Sir, Idea 3G is available in your area and because of some contractual obligations we can not launch 3G in your town” and the contract says, “in those towns where Idea has 3G available, Vodafone will not spend money to install 3G network.” This is how they are working for each others interest by making a cartel.
Similarlly Idea is not covering those towns/villages where Voda has provided 3G. But at district level nad in big cities they are both launching 3G.
Sajjan December 24, 2011 at 9:06 am
1. DOT has done the right thing. These operators were fooling the Govt and were offering the services in circles where they don’t have any license.
2. consumer who are impacted due to this have all legal right to get thr money back from operators and if operators don’t hey have all right to goto consumer forum or TRAI as well.
@ctg – DOT has all right to auction spectrum, and BSNL paid the amount equal to highest bidder in that auction.
Saurabh December 24, 2011 at 8:49 am
Though all these steps by operators are in consumers interest yet I stand-by Govt. decision. If something like this i.e intra-circle roaming is allowed then I think 2G operators like S-Tel which is operating in six C-category circles will start providing services on pan-India basis by tying-up with other 2G operators.
Even 2G intra-circle roaming pacts between Tata Docomo/Aircel and Videocon/Tata Docomo/Vodafone must be halted. It(2G infra/network sharing) was allowed so as to give time to companies to install their own infrastructure but instead of setting up their own, they are happy using others like Aircel and Videocon.
amar December 24, 2011 at 8:42 am
3G roaming is good but they(airtel and idea) are not giving roaming services , they are giving 3G services without licence.
DoT is right, this service must be withdrawn from today otherwise huge penelty should be imposed to them.
If govt. Is wrong then go to court ?
kunal December 24, 2011 at 7:59 am
The decision of DOT is right. But they should have this decision by taking consumer’s interest in view. Why the consumer suffer due to the violation of rules by the company ? The people who have recharged for 3g one month or so packs must be allowed to access it or their amount must be refund by the operator. Apart from that companies must stop bad practices. The decision is taken very late. Even those who were involved in the taking decision should be punished.
anil December 24, 2011 at 7:54 am
dot ne auction ka ganda khel kyu khela kyu na operators ko bazar bhav par specturm de diya. dot ko international bhav se kafi jyada paisa mila wo 9 saal bad india me launch hone wali 3g se. kyu nahi bsnl ki tarah sabhi operator ko specturm diya jata.
WiMax December 24, 2011 at 4:30 am
I think DOT is right. If airtel, vodafone, and idea has no 3g licence in many circle then why they provide 3g in those place. It’s mean as uninor who has no 3g licence and if they want to provide 3g it will? This is funy to listen . So DOT is right. And BSNL not selling their 3g products where they have no licence(mumbai & delhi). So they not cheat gov. In this case tata docomo is best they breakup the tieup with aircel for 3g roaming.
WiMax December 24, 2011 at 4:27 am
I think DOT is right. If airtel, vodafone, and idea has no 3g licence in many circle then why they provide 3g in those place. It’s mean as uninor who has no 3g licence and if they want to provide 3g it will? This is funy to listen . So DOT is right. And BSNL not selling their 3g products where they have no licence(mumbai & delhi). So they not cheat gov. In this case tata docomo do the best thing. they breakup their tieup with aircel for 3g roaming.
Shibasis December 24, 2011 at 1:20 am
I think DOT is right because with ICRA these bullshit trios want to make maximum profits and one thing will be sure in future(if ICRA continues)that the prices of packages will be high as of today and there will be no option to opt for a cheaper 3G as all we’ll be having the comparatively same price. and also it will affect the speed as there will be high subscriber base per the single 3g tower.
V December 24, 2011 at 12:48 am
DOT is correct
@kaushik
V December 24, 2011 at 12:46 am
Shit company.
Trying to make money in name of customers, they are just trying to protect their interest of earning higher income from all circles without paying for them.
This is unfair for BSNL who paid much higher fees for PAN India License.
Customers please wake up and think about the entire issue.
These companies are doing totally unfair practice.
This DOT move will force these operators to enter into tariff competition in 3G BECAUSE there will be limited operators in a circle with MTNL/BSNL providing cheaper 3G services to earn more customer these operators will have to be competitive.
In the end we will be benefiting by cheap 3G services.
kankan December 23, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Now noone going to purchase the vodafone 3G at kolkata because they are charging amount for accessing their 3G network…..
I hate voda………………..
sajd December 23, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Its a good move actually…let the customer switch to other network who provides 3 g….sharing the infrastructure will effect the customers more as it will lower the speed if the users high…
afterall as a customer we all know what is the speed they publish and what speed do they provide?
For eg: in blackberry internet the speed they they say is 60-80kbps,and at extreme case it will be 30kbps,but the fact is at the most it may go up till 18kbps…and most of the time it fluctuates between 8-14kbps
kaushik December 23, 2011 at 11:39 pm
the DoT is bullshitting!!
kankan December 23, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Ultimately its time to making joy atleast someone stop this cheaters……..
those who are unhappy with this decision please go through the policies, this 3G agreement surely hurts the country’s revenue means this 3G agreement(Airtel,Idea&Vodafone) is totally illegal.
bharathkumara December 23, 2011 at 11:21 pm
sorry friends.. now on i am not using any 3g service.. from any company.. sorry.. i cant able to solve the issue of this problem.. most probally govt is taking wrong decision.. every body cant by bsnl. for roaming.. sorry.. i cant use 2 or 3 sims.. i just need only one sim.. i am using one number from all most from 8 year.. today i am using 3g.. suddenly how is govt taking wrong decision.. and i am starting campain towards dont use 3g.. please cancel mtnl and bsnl.. roaming agreement.. how they cant.. they are govt (bsnl and mtnl).. right.. for govt one rules… for private one rules.. what the s…t.. govt are acting doublw game.. for making money..
gaurav December 23, 2011 at 11:09 pm
i hate voda
Sandeep Reddy December 23, 2011 at 11:09 pm
The government is already indulged in numerous scams and now I think DoT has taken the right decision to issue show-cause notices for the companies who are offering 3G services illegally. If these notices haven’t had been issued, the common man will definitely think that these all private companies must have bribed some of the officials in DoT and TRAI and hence they are numb without taking any actions on these companies violating the rules. Actually I also think that the government should have auctioned the 2G spectrum as they have auctioned the 3G and BWA spectrum without opting for the First Come First Serve criterion which would have killed the major 2G scam before it took its birth and wouldn’t have put the officials either under the ED or CBI scan..
Amit Deb Biswas December 23, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Vodafone has once again hiked GPRS package!! From today it is giving 100mb for 2days on rs.18 pack.. Erlier it was 200mb 3days validity.. I have checked it.. Hope Airtel will follow this soon.. Also heard that rs.4 will give 10mb instead of 40mb.. Not sure.. Ohhh, its getting harder to with vodafone day by day!!
gaurav December 23, 2011 at 10:57 pm
it sounds quite odd when this bussiness trio of vodafone, idea and airtel talks of ethics. A very good and appreciable move by dot. Dot has just given them the taste of their owm s*%it. Lol !!
sachin December 23, 2011 at 10:56 pm
surely goverment cheated operators and customers…all the companies should ask for refund of money they paid for 3g spectrum
Raaj December 23, 2011 at 10:56 pm
If Vodafone is right and it’s not selling products in circles where it doesn’t have licenses,then the Govt. should reconsider the decision it took about the 3G roaming agreements…..
Kaushik Roy December 23, 2011 at 10:50 pm
its a copy of statement issued by Airtel
Ajay December 23, 2011 at 10:44 pm
if agreement with other company for icra is not violated the rule of dot . then file am appeal to court and challenge the government why they are doing this . first of all no operator in India has ran India licence to provide 3g . how we customer enjoy 3g service . now the govt want to sell 4g spectrum . my advice for the govt is that first solve 3g spectrum problem then start thinking about 4g
Sam from Kashmir December 23, 2011 at 10:40 pm
idea stops/cencels 3G roming in delhi… i m using idea but connected with vodafone 3G in delhi before 3pm after 3pm its not connected with voda 3G….. now buy new lencences in theses circles.
pritam December 23, 2011 at 10:40 pm
its the right decision by DOT.
Sushant December 23, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Drop prices first, then it will be in consumers favour.
sayantan December 23, 2011 at 10:34 pm
i support vodafone.we need 3g from every operator,so that there remains a competition in market.in kolkata bsnl is still unable to provide good 3g coverage so i need OTHER 3G OPERATOR.first ensure best 3g coverage from bsnl(as it got spectrum earliest).