DoT has imposed a penalty of Rs 500 million on Bharti Airtel for offering subscriber local dialling (SLD) services to its customers in violation of telecom licence norms.

DoT has imposed a penalty of Rs 500 million on Bharti Airtel for offering subscriber local dialling (SLD) services to its customers in violation of telecom licence norms. Hutchison Essar is facing a similar penalty. In June 2003, DoT had asked all service providers to stop providing SLD services but Bharti Airtel and Hutchison Essar continued to do so until January 2005 and December 2003 respectively. While Bharti Airtel violated the licensing norms in 11 circles including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana, Punjab, Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Chennai, Hutchison Essar violated the norms in Mumbai and Delhi.