Rs 3,050-cr DoT penalty discover to Vi, Airtel could set off authorized tussle

The telecom sector is ready to witness a recent spherical of litigation between the operators and the division of telecommunications, thus upsetting the federal government’s intent of putting in a second set of reforms aiming to place an finish to authorized battles.
The trade — operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — acquired a jolt when late night on September 30, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) despatched notices to them asking to pay a cumulative penalty of Rs 3,050 crore inside three weeks.
This penalty was really helpful by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) approach again in 2016, ratified by the Digital Communications Commission, the best inter-ministerial, coverage making physique within the DoT in July 2019, however held again by the telecom minister since then.

Expressing its disappointment on the DoT’s transfer and transferring the authorized discussion board for redressal as its subsequent step, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson mentioned, “We are deeply disappointed with the arbitrary and unfair demand based on Trai recommendations of 2016 relating to provisions of point of interconnect to a new operator.” Cases regarding intra-circle roaming, one-time spectrum prices, and so on between the operators and DoT are pending in varied courts. FE