Bharti Airtel Penalised in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh for Violation of Norms, Reliance Jio

Bharti Airtel, one of the big telecom companies, has been fined in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh due to violation of rules. The telecom department in Andhra Pradesh has imposed a fine of about Rs 6.59 lakh on the company due to alleged violation of rules related to verification of subscribers under the license agreement.

The company has stated in a regulatory filing that the penalty has been imposed in Andhra Pradesh after the CAF audit of the telecom depot later last year. The company will have to pay a fine of Rs 1.37 lakh for violation of rules related to electromagnetic field self-sortification in Maharashtra. The company has said that financial impact in both these cases is limited to fines imposed.

Recently, the company gave a contract to Nokia and Qualcomm to improve its 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) and Wifi solutions. Under this contract, Manufacturing will be done in the country according to the ‘Make in India’ mission of Nokia’s 5G FWA and Wi-Fi 6 access points of Finland. However, the value of this contract has not been reported. This will increase the availability of broadband in areas where fiber connectivity is not limited or available. Bharti Airtel will be supplied to Nokia its 5G FWA outdoor gateway receiver and Wi-Fi 6 access points. These devices will use the modem-RF and Wi-Fi 6 chipset of Qualcomm.

Bharti Airtel is preparing to increase the coverage of its 5G network. The company plans to increase coverage to meet the increasing demand for data. Along with this, the company has also decided not to invest in 4G network. At the end of the last quarter, the company had a 5G base of about 120 million subscribers. The share of 5G smartphones in the total shipments of the smartphone has increased to more than 80 percent. Bharti Airtel’s capital experience has decreased in the current financial year. In the last quarter, the company has installed around 5,200 towers and about 16,300 mobile broadband stations to increase its network and improve the experience of customers. Recently Bharti Enterprises reported that it is planning to start satellite telecom service.