The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has been going back and forth with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited over the ‘priority 4G network’ plan. Trai had earlier questioned both the telcos over their ‘priority 4G network’ plan saying that the telcos should have registered the plan as a new type of offering so it could have been examined properly. Now, the regulator has issued a show-cause notice to VIL over the same issue. In its ‘show cause’ notice, Trai has asked VIL about giving a reason for why should action be not initiated against the telco for violation of the extant regulatory framework with its RedX plan.
VIL Gets a Show Cause Notice, What About Bharti Airtel?
It was not just VIL which was questioned by Trai a few weeks back. There was Bharti Airtel as well, so what about a show-cause notice to Airtel? According to sources of PTI, Airtel has offered to abide by whatever Trai asks of it and has also modified its Platinum offering in a way which doesn’t violate the regulatory framework. Thus Trai is not going to proceed further with the investigation on Bharti Airtel.
For VIL though, the show cause notice sent to the telco read, “claim of VIL for providing priority 4G network with faster data speeds is not in compliance with the extant regulatory framework”.
Trai mentioned in the notice that the RedX tariff offer lacks transparency and is very misleading to the customers, all of which results in non-compliance by the telco with the regulatory rules of tariff analysis under Telecom Tariff order, 1999. In addition to this, Trai said that VIL’s RedX plan is not in compliance of the licence agreement as well as technical specifications.
Responding to the questions earlier asked by Trai, VIL had said that it is not offering any new type of service with its RedX plan. VIL has also challenged Trai’s views on the plan being listed separately since it is a new type of service. The telco has explained and justified its pay-more-for-priority-experience plan to its customers already.
