TDSAT has told TRAI to hurry up and make a decision on the case filed against Reliance Jio by Bharti Airtel after the latter extended its free services to the public until March 31 this year. The regulatory body has however retorted that the 10-day time frame prescribed by the telecom tribunal is not enough deal with the issue since there are similar older complaints lined up too.
This is not the first time TRAI seems to have been caught dragging its feet over the arguably shady way Reliance Jio circumvented the hurdle of not being able to extend promotional deals beyond the stipulated 90-day period. When it was asked to restrict its Welcome Offer of free calls, data and SMS to the prescribed time limit, it introduced the Happy New Year Offer which essentially gives customers the same benefits.
What’s more, Jio users who had subscribed to the Welcome Offer were automatically shifted to the Happy New Year Offer. Naturally, operators across India have been hit by the new entrant’s free services deal which was ruled as non-predatory since the company has such a small share of the telecom market.
The Happy New Year Offer appears to have been the last straw. Airtel raised a petition with TDSAT against TRAI’s inaction on this matter and now the latter has been asked to reach a decision soon. Jio has filed an impleadment application asking to be included in the case since the outcome will affect it.
New paper on net neutrality
The debate on net neutrality in India continues. TRAI has followed up its pre-consultation paper which was published in May 2016 with a consultation paper inviting the public’s comments on the issue of equal access to the whole Internet. The last date for submitting your views is February 15, and counter comments will be accepted until February 28.
Tariff rules, numbering plans to be reviewed
TRAI is set to review its various tariff rules including regulations and licensing. Another important point that will be discussed is infrastructure sharing for reducing operational costs and enhancing quality of services. Then there’s also the matter of assessing telephone numbering plans, web-based calling services and so on.