Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) shares or stocks are in the green on Wednesday morning. Airtel’s shares have risen more than 2% while Idea (Vodafone Idea or Vi) shares are trading at almost 1% high at Rs 10.50. At the time of writing, Bharti Airtel is trading at Rs 710.95 which is 2.12% in the green.
Bharti Airtel had previously closed at Rs 696.20 and then opened at Rs 699.40 on Wednesday. Airtel’s stock/share has already touched a high of Rs 713.40. At the same time, Vodafone Idea shares had previously closed at Rs 10.40 and opened on Wednesday at the same price. The telco’s high for the day until now is Rs 10.50 only.
So why are Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea stocks in the green? Here’s a major reason why it could be this way.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Didn’t Have to Pay Penalty of Rs 3,050 Crore
On a recommendation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had asked Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel to pay a penalty of Rs 3,050 crore. This penalty has been imposed on the telcos for not releasing enough Point of Interconnects (PoIs) to Reliance Jio back in 2016.
Because of this, 75% of the voice calls on Jio’s networks weren’t connecting. The regulator would have stripped the telecom licenses of Airtel and Vodafone Idea, but it didn’t do that because it would have created havoc in the country as both the operators have millions of customers.
But because the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) didn’t sit down to hear the case yesterday, both the telcos didn’t have to pay anything. Further, as per the tribunal’s order, DoT can’t even encash the bank guarantees (BGs) given by the operators.
This could be a major reason why Airtel and Vodafone Idea stocks are in the green since morning.
