Call blocks: Telcos may be fined up to Rs 50 crore

Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India run the risk of having to pay penalties, besides facing cancellation of their licences, if the telecom regulator finds that they are deliberately blocking calls from other networks, including Reliance Jio.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) regulations limit dropped calls on interconnect points to five in every 1,000 calls, or 0.5%. Anything beyond will lead to telcos being held responsible for anti-competitive behaviour.

“We can file a case in court for non-compliance of the rule, and since it is also non-compliance of licence terms and conditions, DoT (Department of Telecommunications) has the power to cancel the licences or levy a penalty of up to ₹50 crore,” a top Trai official said, requesting anonymity.

Trai itself holds penal powers, which it will exercise if a telco is found guilty, the official added.

Jio and Airtel continue to spar over points of interconnection (PoIs), where calls are handed over from one network to another.

While Jio claims that incumbents have not provided it with enough PoIs, Airtel has said that Jio is creating unnecessary controversy over PoIs to mask inadequacies in its own service.

Jio has said that 20 million calls between its network and Airtel’s are failing every day.

A spokesperson for Airtel declined comment. Spokespersons for Vodafone India and Idea did not respond to e-mails.

The controversy surrounding PoIs began after the Cellular Operators Association of India complained to DoT and PMO that Jio had launched full-fledged services in the guise of a test, and without having interconnect agreements with any of the incumbent operators.