BackReliance Jio moves CCI against Airtel, Vodafone, Idea for cartelization: report
Reliance Jio is said to have accused telecom incumbents Airtel, Vodafone, Idea of forming a cartel to obstruct its entry into the sector
Premium
New Delhi: Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd is said to have approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Ltd alleging them of forming a cartel to obstruct its entry into the telecom sector.
“Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. has filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Vodafone India Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd. alleging abuse of dominance and cartelisation", BloombergQuint said on its website, quoting a person familiar with the development who requested anonymity.
Mint could not immediately verify the claim.
The Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Jio and the top three telecom firms in the country have been sparring over PoIs (points of interconnection)—the junctions at which calls are trasmitted from one network to another. On 21 October, Trai recommended imposition of penalty of Rs3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India for deliberately blocking calls made from new operator Reliance Jio network.
While Reliance Jio claims the incumbent telecom firms have not provided it with enough PoIs, the companies have said that Reliance Jio is creating an unnecessary controversy to mask inadequacies in its own service.
ALSO READ | Reliance Jio acquired 50 million subscribers since launch, claims executive
Earlier this month, a parliamentary panel called for a meeting with Reliance Jio, telecom industry lobby group- COAI (Cellular Operator Association of India) along with Department of Telecom and Trai (telecom regulatory authority of India) to discuss the issue of quality of service and call drops on the network.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
