DoT slaps ₹3,050 crore penalty on Airtel, VIL; Airtel to approach court
The Hindu
In October 2016, TRAI had recommended imposing a total penalty of ₹3,050 crore on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea (now merged) for allegedly denying inter-connectivity to Reliance Jio.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has slapped a penalty of ₹2,000 crore on Vodafone Idea and ₹ 1,050 crore on Bharti Airtel based on sector regulator TRAI's recommendation five years ago, according to sources.
The DoT has given three weeks time 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.
When contacted Bharti Airtel spokesperson said, “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. These allegations were frivolous and motivated.”













