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Idea Cellular has resumed 3G services through intra-circle roaming (ICR) agreements. The services would be resumed across its 10 telecom circles, and enabling its subscribers roam on 3G networks across all the 22 circles in the country.
The 10 circles to be activated under 3G services are Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kolkata & West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Assam and North East. The company’s both post- and pre-paid customers can avail of the services, Idea Cellular said in a statement.
“Idea is committed to proliferating mobile internet in India, and the extension of our 3G services on a pan-India level will give a major boost to our efforts in this direction. Idea has partnered with leading telecom operators in the country to enable seamless 3G connectivity,” said Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer at Idea Cellular.
This enables 3G roaming for more than 25 per cent of its total 137 million subscribers, it said.
The Aditya Birla group company will extend its 3G services to two additional circles – Punjab and Delhi – in this financial year, increasing its total 3G footprint to 12.
On Sunday, Bharti Airtel resumed 3G services through ICR agreements. The New Delhi-based said in statement that its 3G services would now be available in Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh & Chhatisgarh (MPCG), Gujarat, Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh (East).
The 3G ICR were resumed by companies following a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) upheld the operators’ plea to offer the services.
Last week, a TDSAT Bench stated that 3G ICR agreements signed among Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular were not violative of the licence conditions. The companies had approached the tribunal against the licensor Department of Telecommunications order to stop 3G roaming in circles where they did not win spectrum.
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