Airtel told to stop 3G services in 7 regions, slapped Rs 350 crore fine

NEW DELHI: The government has ordered Bharti Airtel, the country's largest mobile phone company, to stop providing third-generation (3G) services in Kolkata, Maharashtra, Gujarat and four other regions by Monday, as it cracks the whip on companies offering these services in areas where they do not have permits.
Bharti moved the Delhi High Court on Friday against the telecom department (DoT) directive, and the court will hear the case on Monday.
DoT has also slapped a 350-crore penalty on the company for offering high-end data services in seven regions where it does not have 3G frequencies.
A government department official confirmed that similar bans, including penalties, would be slapped on Vodafone and Idea Cellular too, but declined to specify the time frame.
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea won 3G airwaves in 13, nine and 11 circles, respectively, in the 2010 auctions, and between them have a national footprint. They subsequently entered into intra-circle roaming pacts with each other and rode on the airwaves of their partners in circles where they did not hold spectrum themselves. This enabled them to offer high-speed data services on a pan-India basis.
But the government has held these roaming pacts to be illegal.