Jio accuses Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL of cheating; asks Trai to slap penalties

NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio Infocomm has accused Bharti AirtelNSE -0.80 %, Vodafone Idea and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) of ‘cheating’ by fraudulently masquerading landline numbers as mobile numbers to unfairly earn interconnect revenue. The charge was rejected by Airtel, which said the Mukesh Ambani-owned telco was trying to ‘misguide’ the telecom regulator amid the ongoing consultation process on interconnect usage charge (IUC), as the war of words over the contentious fee heated up further.

In a strongly-worded letter to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman R S Sharma dated October 14, Jio urged the telecom regulator to slap the heaviest penalties on both incumbents & BSNL for alleged violations of various telecom regulations, which it claimed had cost Jio hundreds of crores, and the government as well.