Vodafone-Idea, Airtel face Rs 3,050 crore fine

NEW DELHI: Airtel and Vodafone-Idea will need to cough up Rs 3,050 crore towards non-provision of telecom connectivity points to Reliance Jio in 2016 with the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the telecom department’s apex decision-making body, going ahead with regulator Trai’s recommendations on the matter.
The issue has been in the works for nearly three years as the telecom ministry, and thereafter the DCC, have been seized of the matter. A review request had earlier been sent to Trai on the quantum of penalty, but the regulator stuck to its original recommendation.
Airtel and Vodafone-Idea opposed the decision, and are expected to take legal recourse to counter the penalty award.