TRAI gives Vodafone Idea time till Sep 4 to reply to showcause notice on priority plan

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has granted additional time till September 4 to Vodafone Idea to respond to its showcause notice on priority plan, a source said.

TRAI, last week, had slapped a showcause notice on Vodafone Idea Ltd over its pay-more-for-priority-treatment mobile plan, saying the tariff offer “lacks transparency”, is “misleading” and not in compliance with regulatory framework.

TRAI, which had been probing Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL’s) priority plan, had issued an elaborate 17-page notice to the telco on August 25 asking it to “show cause” by August 31 “as to why appropriate action should not be initiated against it for violating the extant regulatory framework by its RedX tariff plan….”

A source privy to the development said VIL had approached the regulator asking for three weeks’ additional time to reply to the showcause notice.