No approval from govt may see Bharti exit 3G services

Major telecom firms Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have threatened to exit 3G services if the government does not approve their pact to provide intra-circle roaming.

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Birla and Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao have written a joint letter to the Prime Minister.

They want a refund of the 3G spectrum payments if intra-circle roaming is not allowed.

The letter asks for a refund of the auction payment with interest as well as compensation for all capital investments made in 3G.

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Today, Bharti Airtel was among major losers on the Nifty. It touched an intraday high of Rs 374 and an intraday low of Rs 362.50. At 10:09 hrs the share was quoting at Rs 368.90, down Rs 9.80, or 2.59%.
 
It was trading with volumes of 2,508,151 shares. In the previous trading session, the share closed down 2.51% or Rs 9.75 at Rs 378.70.

However, Idea was down 3.86% or Rs 3.80 at Rs 94.60.