Airtel counters Trai verdict

Telecom operator Airtel has countered the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) verdict on interconnectivity, while Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has declined to interfere in the verdict, stating that it is the issue related to individual members.

“We are continuously augmenting the Points Of Interconnects provided to Reliance Jio and the pace of augmentation has been the fastest ever done by us. Further, we are in full compliance with the requirements of Grade of Service set by Trai,” an Airtel spokesperson told DH.

“We are always disappointed whenever an industry member is fined. So it is the case right now as well,” COAI Director General Rajan Matthews said.

The telecom regulator has slapped a combined penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,050 crore for 21 circles), Vodafone India (Rs 1,050 crore for 21 circles) and Idea Cellular (Rs 950 crore for 19 circles) for violating licence norms by denying adequate interconnection points to Reliance Jio Infocomm and said their actions appeared to be aimed at stifling competition and were anti-consumer and against public interest.

“It is an individual matter of the companies involved. Trai had issued notices to these companies on the individual level,” Matthews said, adding that it was up to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to take a call on whether or not to pursue with the Trai’s recommendation.Vodafone said at the moment it did not want to make any comments.