Vodafone Idea, Airtel likely to get show cause notices from TRAI

Kolkata: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is set to issue show-cause notices this week to Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, asking them why it shouldn’t terminate their RedX and Platinum tariff plans, respectively.

The regulator feels the plans appear to charge consumers more money for faster data speeds, in addition to fragmenting the 4G information highway on the basis of tariff. The notices may well be the first step towards stopping the plans.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel are likely to get less than a week to respond, a senior Trai official told ET. “Serving show cause notices to the telcos is a legal requirement for the authority before any final direction to bar the RedX and Platinum offers,” the official said.

Vodafone Idea, which introduced RedX last November, has much to lose if the plan is barred as it has almost 130,000 users, who may switch to rivals, said experts. Airtel won’t be hit as hard since it started the Platinum plan only on July 6.



Industry executives expect the telcos to challenge any unfavourable order in the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Trai first suspended RedX and Platinum plans on July 11, following which Vodafone Idea moved the TDSAT.

The appellate body stayed the regulator’s order and allowed the telco to continue enrolling RedX customers. Airtel, which did not challenge Trai’s order, has agreed to comply with the regulator’s final ruling.

Last week, the regulator sought more time from the TDSAT to conclude its inquiry to see whether the RedX and Platinum tariff plans degraded the quality of services for other users on nonpremium plans. It has been examining the matter after a complaint by Reliance Jio on July 8.

The appellate tribunal has granted Trai three weeks and will hear the matter on September 10. According to the official quoted earlier the regulator will ask Vodafone Idea and Airtel to show cause for their decision to charge consumers more for faster speeds, as Trai is strongly opposed to the idea of telcos monetising differential data speeds.

The regulator is also against fragmenting the 4G broadband highway on the basis of tariff. Trai’s final decision is awaited. ET had reported in its August 15 edition that Trai is unwilling to allow tariff plans promising faster data speeds for a higher payment, and might stop the RedX and Platinum offers.