TRAI recommends Rs 3,050 crore penalty on Airtel, Vodafone & Idea

Telecom Regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended Department of Telecom (DoT) to impose combined penalty of 3,050 crore rupees on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular.
It had mentioned that the penalty should be imposed on these telecom companies for allegedly denying interconnectivity to newcomer Reliance Jio.
What is the issue?

• The Reliance Jio had alleged that due to inadequate interconnection points its subscribers were unable to make calls to other networks.
• TRAI has found that these three companies have violated licence norms by denying adequate interconnection points to Reliance Jio Infocomm.
• Their combined actions have stifled the competition and are seen as anti-consumer and against public interest.

Now the DoT will decide on next course of action. If DoT finds violations of norms in all circles as mentioned by TRAI, these three telcos will be imposed combined penalty of Rs 3,050 crore.

About Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

• The TRAI is an independent regulator of the telecommunications business in India. It came into existence by the Act of the Parliament in 1997.
• It was established in wake of entry of private sector in telecom industries after Government had constituted the National Telecom Policy (NTP) to attract domestic and FDI investment in the telecommunication sector.
• Its main purpose is to deliver a fair and transparent environment for fair competition in telecom market. TRAI also fixes or revises the tariffs for telecom services in India.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2016