India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has ordered mobile operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular to immediately stop 3G services in telecommunication circles where they do not have spectrum, reports the Business Standard. The three operators have roaming pacts and offer pan-India 3G mobile services without having spectrum in several circles. DoT has arrived at the conclusion that 3G roaming deals are in violation of the terms and conditions of their licences. Under the rules, an operator can be fined INR 500 million per circle at the most for any violation of licence conditions, and the licence can be withdrawn in extreme cases. The DoT has yet to decide what action will be taken for violation of the licence conditions. The operators immediately challenged the action at the TDSAT telecoms tribunal, and the tribunal agreed to stay the DoT order until a hearing on 03 January.
