The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday denied immediate relief to Vodafone Idea over its petition challenging Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) order on withholding its RedX plan. The third largest cellular provider in India moved TDSAT on Monday seeking a relief order against the Trai directive that required Vodafone Idea to stop providing its premium RedX plan to users. The Trai in a letter dated June 11 is said to have sent identical orders to Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel asking the operators to stop premium plans that promised “faster speeds” to users.
TDSAT Denies Immediate Relief to Vodafone
The TDSAT on Tuesday said that the petition filed by Vodafone Idea will be heard on July 16. The order by TDSAT was due to the senior counsel representing Trai seeking one day additional time for filing a short reply on the case. The RedX plan is the premium offering from Vodafone Idea with a promise of “priority 4G network” that offers “unlimited data with faster data speeds.” Additionally, the RedX plan offers other benefits including airport lounge access, international roaming and one year subscription to Netflix. The RedX plan was introduced in the market in Novemeber, 2019, at a price of Rs 999 per month. However, the operator revised its premium plan in May, 2020, with Vodafone introducing commercial policies on voice and data usage on RedX plan. Further, Vodafone Idea hiked the price of its RedX plan to Rs 1099 per month in May. The TDSAT on Tuesday said that the submissions by Vodafone Idea and Trai had highlighted that the concerns were related to the changes made by Vodafone Idea in May. “However, the factual position in this regard is not clear,” the TDSAT said in an order on Tuesday. “Hence, the parties are expected to make it clear. The petitioner may bring on record the amendment to the Vodafone Red X offer if made in May 2020.”
Reliance Jio Files Application for Impleadment
The TDSAT has provided one day time for Vodafone Idea and Trai to file their submissions before taking up the issue on Thursday for interim relief. It was also said that Reliance Jio has pressed an application for “impleadment” with the TDSAT in its order highlighting that the application filed by Jio will also be considered on Thursday.
