<p>Stating that the ministry had received the views of the Law Ministry, among others, on the matter, Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar said, "The broad view that is emerging is that it is impermissible."<br /><br />The ministry will soon take action, he added, but declined to give further details.<br />He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham event here.<br /><br />The issue pertains to the pact between major service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, for providing a 3G roaming network on a pan-India basis.<br /><br />Other service providers, like Tata Teleservices and Aircel, had also entered into a similar agreements to offer services in six circles.<br /><br />The Department of Telecom (DoT) had sought a legal opinion on this matter and the Law Ministry had also supported the DoT's view.<br /><br />In an internal note, the DoT had said the roaming agreement among telecom companies for 3G services would lead to a significant loss of revenue for the government.<br /><br />There may also be an impact on revenues from spectrum usage charges collected from operators, the note added.<br /><br />The chiefs of three leading telecom firms -- Bharti, Idea and Vodafone -- had then sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in the dispute over the 3G roaming pact, failing which they said they would surrender spectrum.<br /><br />Singh, on his part, had assured the industry that the government will look into their concerns and formulate forward-looking policies to sustain growth in the sector.</p>
<p>Stating that the ministry had received the views of the Law Ministry, among others, on the matter, Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar said, "The broad view that is emerging is that it is impermissible."<br /><br />The ministry will soon take action, he added, but declined to give further details.<br />He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an Assocham event here.<br /><br />The issue pertains to the pact between major service providers, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, for providing a 3G roaming network on a pan-India basis.<br /><br />Other service providers, like Tata Teleservices and Aircel, had also entered into a similar agreements to offer services in six circles.<br /><br />The Department of Telecom (DoT) had sought a legal opinion on this matter and the Law Ministry had also supported the DoT's view.<br /><br />In an internal note, the DoT had said the roaming agreement among telecom companies for 3G services would lead to a significant loss of revenue for the government.<br /><br />There may also be an impact on revenues from spectrum usage charges collected from operators, the note added.<br /><br />The chiefs of three leading telecom firms -- Bharti, Idea and Vodafone -- had then sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in the dispute over the 3G roaming pact, failing which they said they would surrender spectrum.<br /><br />Singh, on his part, had assured the industry that the government will look into their concerns and formulate forward-looking policies to sustain growth in the sector.</p>