DoT extends minimum rollout compliance deadlines to Sept 30, offering relief to Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea

Kolkata: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday extended the compliance deadline of telcos for meeting their minimum network rollout obligations (MRO) to September 30 amid continuing lockdowns, invoking the force majeure clause in operator licence rules, providing a temporary reprieve to Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

The Big 3 telcos were dreading the prospect of stiff penalties of around Rs 50 crore per MRO violation, starting June, as DoT had earlier not extended the compliance timelines beyond May 31, despite repeated reminders from operators.