The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a probe of telecom majors, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, for allegedly trying to block the entry of Reliance Jio.
According to sources, the regulator has decided to investigate allegations of unfair business practices made against the incumbent telecom player, and said it will also examine the overall conduct of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), especially since the allegations of anti-competitive practices have been made against three of its key members.
The fair trade regulator’s decision to launch a probe by the Director-General — CCI’s investigation arm — comes on a complaint filed against the three players and the COAI for allegedly trying to restrict the entry of Reliance Jio, said an official.
Sources said the CCI has concluded that dominant telecom players colluded and used the COAI platform to deny points of interconnection to Reliance Jio.
The COAI’s role will be looked into in the context of Section 3 of the Competition Act that pertains to anti-competitive agreements.
A decision on the complaints filed by the incumbents that Reliance Jio was indulging in predatory pricing is yet to be taken up.
In defence The regulator is believed to be of the view that only an established or dominant player can resort to predatory pricing. A spokesperson of Bharti Airtel said: “We have not received any such communication from the CCI and will , therefore, not be able to comment. We have already stated that we have always responded with alacrity and provided a staggering quantum of points of interconnections (PoIs) to Reliance Jio in record time.”
The COAI also said it was disappointed with the CCI decision to go forward with an investigation into the complaint filed by Reliance Jio.
“In the interim, the matter is also before the High Court and the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, and we also await the conclusions from these judicial bodies. We believe COAI and its members will be fully vindicated in the matter,” said Rajan S Mathews, DG, COAI.
He said the COAI will continue to work towards a facilitative policy and regulatory ecosystem for a stable, long-term predictable policy environment which facilitates, affordability, growth, innovation and investments.