NEW DELHI: After landing in trouble at telecom tribunal TDSAT, two of the country's biggest mobile players Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have now come under the scanner of anti-monopoly watchdog MRTPC which has ordered a probe into their suspected cartelisation in raising tariffs.
The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Commission has directed its investigative arm Director General of Investigation and Registration (DGIR) to conduct a probe into the manner in which the companies raised tariffs last month. The Commission suspects these companies have formed a cartel and are distorting competition in the market, sources said.
The companies last month raised tariffs for STD, local calls, SMS and value-added services. But while even a small cut in rates is announced with fanfare, they refrained from publicizing the tariff hike and brought out customary notices by way of small advertisements tucked inside newspaper pages.
The three companies including Idea control around 86 per cent of the GSM-based mobile services market and raised local call charges by 20 per cent and STD charges by 20-32 per cent.