The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has stayed the penalty implemented by the telecom regulator on telcos for failing to curb spam communication. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) had put a Rs 141 crore penalty on the private telecom operators including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi).
Telcos had moved against the order and sought help from TDSAT to settle the matter. The telecom appellate tribunal has now asked TRAI not to take any coercive action against the telcos until the next hearing which is scheduled for February 13, 2025, said an ET report. It is worth noting that BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has not moved against TRAI's penalty while all the other telcos have. Despite this, TRAI is unlikely to take any action against BSNL also since TDSAT's order has come now.
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Telcos have said that when the TRAI had implemented the penalties, their digital consent acquisition (DCA) platform was still being implemented. Due to the allegations from both sides, TDSAT has halted the penalty for now. It will be interesting to see who comes out winning in the end. The telcos don't want to pay the penalty as they are already cash flow stressed. At the same time, TRAI doesn't want to leave the telcos unaccountable and wants to make them pay for not being able to curb spam communication on their networks.
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According to the tribunal, the telecom firms were not at fault for the delay in the implementation of the regulations, including the DCA. This would give the telcos more confidence in their ability to come out on the winning side of this thing. TRAI is playing the role of the strict authority here, which is actually good for the consumers.
