Vodafone on Friday moved the Delhi High Court, challenging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommendation to fine the company Rs 1,050 crore for allegedly failing to provide Reliance Jio points of interconnection. The company said Trai had made the recommendation “arbitrarily” to the Department of Telecommunication.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva scheduled the next hearing in the matter for December 21, after lawyers representing Trai sought time till December 19.
The telecom giant argued that the process adopted by Trai was injudicious as the company had a 90-day period to provide interconnectivity. Reliance Jio had paid for points of interconnection on September 25, reported NDTV. Trai, however, had recommended the fine on October 21, before the 90-day window was over. Counsel for Vodafone Rajiv Nayar said the firm had till December-end to provide the interconnectivity points to Jio. These points facilitate calls between users of different service providers.
Nayar further asserted that while Trai had the power to impose “financial disincentives”, it cannot recommend imposition of fines. “The telecom authority must act within the four corners of the statute. It is a recommendation that is prejudicial to the interests of the company,” Vodafone’s Rakesh Dwivedi told Mint.
Besides Vodafone, Trai had recommended levying a fine on Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular, as well, for failing to provide Jio with the requisite number of interconnections. Calling it an “ulterior motive”, the telecom regulator had claimed that the actions of the three companies indicated an attempt to stifle competition.
Since its September 1 launch, Reliance Jio has been complaining that rival telecom companies have not been providing the required number of interconnection points, leading to a large number of call drops on its network. The Mukesh Ambani-led firm claimed that the competition was causing an “unlawful and illegal delay” in providing the points.
In a letter addressed to the telecom secretary and Trai chairperson, Reliance Jio said its customers on a particular day experienced an average call drop rate of 87% on the Vodafone ntwork and of 67% on the Idea network. Airtel, Vodafone and Idea maintain that they have complied with Jio’s requirements of interconnection points.
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