A government panel on Wednesday approved a combined penalty of Rs. 3,050 crore ($442 million) on telecom operators bharti airtel and Vodafone Idea for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Industries' telecom unit, Jio, when it began operations in 2016, media reported.  

The Digital Communications Commission on Wednesday backed the telecom regulator's recommendations, media quoted Aruna Sundarajan, the panel chair and the top official in the Department of Telecom (DoT), as saying. Both Vodafone Idea and Bharti criticised the decision."This issue pertaining to points of interconnection has been examined by the DoT, various parliamentary and judicial authorities with no case for any default established," Vodafone Idea, India's biggest wireless carrier said in a statement, adding, it will "explore all options, including seeking legal recourse" to protect company interests. A spokesman for Bharti said the company was "extremely disappointed" and the decision would further burden the high stress in the telecom sector. Bharti will approach the "appropriate forum" and has complete faith in the country's judicial process, the company's spokesman added.