Vodafone launches 3G service in Lachen, Sikkim

Private mobile telephony major Vodafone on Tuesday announced launching of its 3G services in Lachen, North Sikkim. A company statement said Vodafone had earlier announced its network expansion to Lachung, Sikkim and with this move, the company would now cover approximately 665 Census Towns, 4,135 Market Towns and 35,354 villages in the Rest of Bengal (RoWB) circle. “We are now fully equipped to provide the finest connectivity and service to our valued customers in North Sikkim. Vodafone now covers more than 94 per cent of population in the RoWB circle,” Vodafone business head Kolkata and RoWB Anand Sahai said. Earlier, the Supreme court had issued notices against Airtel, Idea and Vodafone for offering **3G services** outside of their zones. The Supreme Court had agreed to hear the Centre’s plea challenging TDSAT’s judgement that allowed 3G intra-circle roaming and issued notices to Airtel, Idea and Vodafone which were allowed to offer 3G services in areas where not all of them own 3G spectrum. A bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar sought a response on the appeal filed by Department of Telecom challenging the Tribunal’s judgement. Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal had overturned a government ban on offering 3G mobile services beyond their licensed zones through roaming pacts, saying that it was in national interest to allow better utilisation of scarce radio frequency. With inputs from PTI