Synopsis of the Story
The industry — operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — received a jolt when late evening on September 30, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sent notices to them asking to pay a cumulative penalty of Rs 3,050 crore within three weeks.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has slapped a penalty of Rs 2,000 crore on Vodafone Idea and Rs 1,050 crore on Airtel based on TRAI’s recommendation five years ago, according to sources.
The DoT has given three weeks to the telecom operators to pay the penalty, a source said while sharing the content of the demand notice served to the companies on Thursday.
Airtel spokesperson said, “We are disappointed with the arbitrary and unfair demand based on TRAI recommendations of 2016 relating to provisions of point of interconnect to a new operator. These allegations were frivolous and motivated.
“Airtel takes pride in maintaining high standards of compliance and has always followed the law of the land. We will challenge the demand and pursue the legal options available to us.” No immediate comments were received from Vodafone Idea.
Cases relating to intra-circle roaming, one-time spectrum charges, etc between the operators and DoT are pending in various courts.
BHARTI AIRTEL TO MOVE COURT
A penalty of Rs2,000 crore has been imposed on Vodafone Idea and Rs1,050 crore on Bharti Airtel based on regulator TRAI’s recommendations five years ago.
In October 2016, TRAI had recommended imposing a total penalty of Rs3,050 crore on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea (now merged) for allegedly denying inter-connectivity to Jio(PTI
