Vodafone, Airtel, Idea unhappy over TRAI's delay on test rules?
Telecom giants Vodafone, Airtel and Idea Cellular criticized the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its delay in refining network test rules in the sector. The companies stated that the current rules clearly prohibited the enrollment of subscribers before the network launched its commercial services. They emphasized that the regulator failed to act when Reliance Jio entered the market and gained subscribers.
TRAI's failure to act sparks disapproval from telecom companies
"TRAI failed to act on a suomoto basis over the violation of these rules, despite the fact that the players had been seeking intervention over this issue for months as new entrant sought large number of PoIs during the test phase itself," Bharti Airtel said.
How did the issue arise?
The telecom companies stated that when Reliance Jio had entered the telecom market, they had succeeded in enrolling over 1.5 million users under its belt. This move, they alleged, was done under the pretense of test users, and wooed subscribers with free services for a specific period. They stated that instead of taking action against Reliance Jio, TRAI proceeded to issue a consultation paper.
TRAI approach termed as 'lackadaisical'
"The present consultation appears to be disguising these violations by claiming lack of clarity in the license regarding time period for testing, limiting number of SIMs and enrolment of subscribers during the test phase," Vodafone said.
