Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Telecommunications and IT has approved the proposal of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for seeking legal opinion from law officers on filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT) order allowing operators to offer 3G services to users through the intra-circle roaming (ICR) pacts .

Following the minister’s approval, DoT will now have to file an appeal in the Supreme Court within 90 days of the TDSAT order, passed on April 29, 2014.

Earlier in 2011, the department had banned 3G ICR which allowed operators to offer 3G services in circles where they did not hold 3G spectrum. Terming 3G ICR illegal and in violation of the licensing terms, DoT had imposed penalties of Rs 3.5 billion on Bharti Airtel, Rs 5.5 billion on Vodafone India  and Rs 3 billion on Idea Cellular for offering 3G services to subscribers through ICR pacts in circles where they did not hold 3G spectrum.

Subsequently, the operators approached TDSAT against the ban. The tribunal on its part cleared the 3G ICR signed between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular and quashed the penalties imposed on them.