Tribunal overturns government ban on 3G roaming pacts

New Delhi: The telecommunication tribunal on Tuesday ruled in favour of leading mobile phone carriers who had challenged a government ban on pacts between them to provide 3G services beyond their licenced zones, a lawyer on the case said.

Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Group Plc's local unit and Idea Cellular were last year barred by the Supreme Court from adding new 3G subscribers in areas where they don not have their own airwaves and were offering the services through agreements with each other.

In 2012, the tribunal had given a split verdict on a plea by the operators challenging the government ban in the long-running dispute.