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New Delhi, Aug 5 The Telecom Regulatory of India has cautioned the Department of Telecommunications that its decision to permit mobile operators to get into roaming agreements within a circle could dilute the roll-out obligation and coverage objectives of the Government.

One June 12, the DoT issued an amendment to the licence conditions permitting intra-circle roaming. This rule will benefit new operators as they can start offering mobile services without rolling out their own network across a circle. For example, a new operator in Tamil Nadu may have a network in Vellore, but not in Coimbatore. The new rule allows it to get into a roaming agreement with any of the existing operators who has coverage in Coimbatore and offer services to its subscribers in that city by using that operator’s network.

So far this kind of agreement was more popular in inter-State traffic wherein a subscriber moving from Tamil Nadu to Delhi would be assured of coverage. For example MTNL, which operates mobile services in Delhi and Mumbai, has a roaming agreement with BSNL which enables the company to offer seamless service whenever a subscribers moves out of Delhi or Mumbai. However MTNL does not have a roaming agreement with any other operator for offering services between Defence Colony in South Delhi and Kamla Nagar in the North as it relies on its own network within Delhi. The new rule could change this and soon local roaming arrangements may become the norm.

However, the regulator, in a letter to DoT, said allowing intra circle roaming will also burden existing mobile operator’s spectrum usage and result in poor service quality. TRAI has pointed out that by allowing operators to get into a roaming agreement within a circle, DoT should ensure that the new operators should fulfil their roll out obligation. , “The regulator also said that the operators should be asked to clearly inform its subscribers about the coverage area.

TRAI said that intra circle roaming could also put pressure on spectrum usage of existing players.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings

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