A couple of days back, an order was issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) asking them to submit all the details regarding the segmented offers provided to the users within a limited number of days. The last date for the telcos as per the Trai order was December 20, 2020. Today is December 24, 2020, and the telcos haven’t submitted the details of their segmented offers yet. This means Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) have missed their deadline that Trai had asked them to follow — more details on the story ahead.
Airtel and Vi Seek for More Time to Comply With the Order
Now, as per a report from the Economic Times, the telcos have asked for extra time from Trai to comply with the order. The regulator had asked both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to submit the details of the segmented offers they provided to their users in the January to November 2020 period. The telcos had initially not shown any interest in doing so. But when the regulator managed to side the Supreme Court towards its decision, operators didn’t have a choice anymore. Telcos had argued that if they share the details of their segmented offers, it will expose their plans to their competitors which would be unfair to them. Thus the Supreme Court had asked the regulator to keep all of the details and information received from the operators confidential and out of reach of anyone who can exploit it to their advantage. Later, Trai sent out direct notices to the operators saying that it requires details of all the segmented offers made to the users between the January and November 2020 period, 10 working days before the year ends. Since the order came around early December, the telcos didn’t have much time on their hands. Now, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have asked for extra time to comply with the regulator’s order. More specifically, the telcos require at least one more month to be able to do that. A Trai official had earlier said that the reason behind asking for the details of all the segmented offers in the concerned period is to ensure complete transparency is maintained. If complete transparency is maintained, it will help the regulator ensure that there is no discrimination in the offers provided to the same class of customers. The telcos haven’t given a specific date as to when they will be able to provide the concerned details to the regulator.
