Bharti Airtel has been fined Rs 0.11 million by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Tamil Nadu licensed service area (LSA), for alleged violations of subscriber verification norms. The penalty follows a customer application form (CAF) audit carried out by DoT in July 2025.
Under its licence agreement, Airtel is required to verify customers adequately before enrolment and comply with DoT’s directives. The July 2025 CAF audit reportedly found lapses in subscriber verification procedures. Meanwhile, Airtel has chosen not to contest the penalty and will pay the amount, with the financial impact limited to the penalty levied.
Separately, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has been penalised Rs 0.1 million by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for violations of the Standards of Quality of Service of Basic Telephone Service (Wireline) and Cellular Mobile Telephone Service Regulations, 2009 for the quarter ending June 2024.
The order requires MTNL to pay the penalty. The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in line with SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, and stated that the penalty will have no material impact on its financial or operational activities. MTNL added that it is taking steps to address TRAI’s concerns and ensure compliance with service quality standards.
