The Digital Communications Commission (erstwhile Telecom Commission) has given its nod for imposing penalty on Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for not providing points of interconnection (PoIs) to Reliance Jio in 2016. It has also asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to review the amount of ₹3,050 crore, looking at the condition of the sector.

“The Commission has agreed to impose penalty on Airtel and Vodafone Idea for not providing PoIs to Reliance Jio. But, at the same time, it has also written to TRAI, asking it to review the quantum of the penalty,” an official told BusinessLine .

Sources at TRAI confirmed receiving the letter from DoT and said it would look into the issue at the earliest.

TRAI, in October 2016, had recommended imposing a total penalty of ₹3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea (then different entities) for allegedly denying interconnectivity to newcomer RJio.

TRAI’s recommendation came on a complaint from RJio that over 75 per cent of calls on its network were failing, as the incumbents were not releasing sufficient number of PoIs. The incumbents had denied the charge, saying RJio’s systems were not in place to begin with.

Of the total penalty of ₹3,050 crore, the penalty on Airtel and Vodafone works out to about ₹1,050 crore each, while in the case of Idea, it is around ₹950 crore.

But, since Vodafone and Idea are merged into one now, the combined entity will have to bear the burden of around ₹2,000 crore.

The DCC comprises the Telecom Secretary, who is the chairperson, and full-time members including Member (Finance), Member (Production), Member (Services) and Member (Technology). The CEO of NITI Aayog and the secretaries of the Department of Economic Affairs; Ministry of Electronics and IT; and DIPP are part-time members of the body.

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