Trai scanner on Bharti Airtel tariffs for violating its transparency order

The regulator has asked the firm to answer queries on non-transparency, discriminatory pricing

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has started examining tariffs of Bharti Airtel after receiving complaints against it for not following principles of transparency and non-discrimination, as well as not reporting tariffs.

Trai recently notified new rules, defining the concept of non-discrimination and non-predation. Disallowing telecommunication companies from making segmented offers to select customers, Trai directed them to file all tariff plans publicly so that customers would have the liberty to choose. Operators are also required to file all tariff plans with Trai within seven days of implementing these.

They are also supposed to conduct self-checks for transparency, non-discrimination and non-predation.

Sources in Trai said the regulator had received complaints against Airtel regarding some tariff plans. Airtel had not provided satisfactory answers to questions it had asked. 

Trai had written to Airtel on February 23. The operator replied on March 9. “The operator was dilly-dallying. We have now asked the operator to reply within 10 days on the queries regarding some tariff offers,” a source in Trai said.

Airtel confirmed that it had received the notice. The company said that the matter was sub-judice and pending in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and it will submit its reply according to the timelines. 

Sources said Trai had written another letter on Thursday, asking for more details of offers reportedly being made to some customers. The regulator has sought details of the service area of the offer, launch date, benefits, how many customers have chosen it and if the offer has been filed with Trai. 
 

If an operator fails to comply with the reporting requirements, Trai can levy a fine of Rs 5,000 per day to a maximum of Rs 200,000.  Incumbent operators are unhappy with the new rules disallowing segmented offers. Airtel has challenged these in the TDSAT, and has described the order as “vicious and aimed at strangulation” of its reach. 

They feel that segmented offers are additional benefits for customers and essential to their business strategies. They have claimed the regulations are against consumer interest as these take away the freedom of the service providers to offer individual discounts to customers. Old operators have historically been making segmented offers, at times used to prevent customers from porting.

Analysts claim the new rules could adversely impact incumbent operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular because the new norms restrict their pricing flexibility, whereas new entrant Reliance Jio will be left untouched at least till the time it achieved a market share of 30 per cent.