TRAI Imposes ₹7 Lakh Financial Disincentive on MTNL for Quality of Service Norms Violation in August 2025

New Delhi, February 20, 2026: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has imposed a financial disincentive of ₹7,00,000 on Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for contravention of the Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024 for the month of August 2025. The order dated February 19, 2026, was received by MTNL's Company Secretary section on February 20, 2026.

MTNL has informed both BSE Limited (Scrip Code: 500108) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (Scrip Symbol: MTNL) about the penalty pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Details of the Penalty:

The financial disincentive of ₹7,00,000 has been imposed for multiple instances of non-compliance with Quality of Service parameters. For the Delhi service area, MTNL recorded a Call Set-up Success Rate of 94.87% against the mandatory benchmark of 95%, resulting in a penalty of ₹1,00,000 for this parameter.

Additionally, TRAI found that MTNL failed to make service-wise geospatial coverage maps available on its website despite reporting 100% compliance in its Performance Monitoring Report. The links provided by MTNL for both Delhi and Mumbai service areas were found to be non-functional. For this contravention, the Authority imposed penalties of ₹3,00,000 each for the Delhi and Mumbai service areas, totalling ₹6,00,000.

Background of the Proceedings:

TRAI had issued a Show Cause Notice to MTNL on October 31, 2025, after analyzing the Performance Monitoring Report for August 2025. The notice highlighted that MTNL had prima facie failed to meet the Quality of Service benchmarks specified under Regulation 6 of the regulations. It was also observed that the performance reported for the parameter "Worst Affected Cells due to downtime" did not match with the performance calculated by TRAI using the primary data submitted by MTNL.

MTNL responded to the Show Cause Notice on December 30, 2025, furnishing reasons for its failure to meet the benchmarks. For the Call Set-up Success Rate shortfall, MTNL cited ambiguity in counter definitions in the PMR report sheets and claimed that a revised report was submitted. However, TRAI found this explanation unsatisfactory, noting that no revised PMR was submitted on the TRAI portal.

Regarding the geospatial coverage maps, MTNL claimed compliance and provided website links. However, TRAI found these links to be non-functional and not displaying the required information, leading to the conclusion that the explanation was unsatisfactory.

Regulatory Framework:

The financial disincentive has been levied under Regulation 16 of the Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wireline and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024. As per Regulation 16(1), a service provider failing to meet the benchmark of QoS parameters is liable to pay an amount not exceeding ₹1 lakh per benchmark for the first contravention.

The order also references Condition 29 of the Unified License Agreement, which mandates that licensees operate and maintain the licensed network conforming to Quality of Service standards, with failure to adhere being treated as a breach of license terms.

Payment Directions:

TRAI has directed MTNL to pay the amount of ₹7,00,000 within twenty-one days from the date of issue of the order, i.e., by March 12, 2026. The payment can be made through demand draft or pay order drawn in favour of "Telecom Regulatory Authority of India-Financial Disincentive" payable at New Delhi, or through NEFT/RTGS to the designated bank account with Union Bank of India, Bhikaji Cama Place Branch, New Delhi.

If MTNL fails to make the payment within the stipulated period, it will be liable to pay interest at a rate 2% above the one-year Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR) of State Bank of India, compounded annually, as per Regulation 18 of the regulations.

Company's Response:

MTNL has informed the stock exchanges that there is no material impact on the financial, operational, or other activities of the company due to this penalty. The company has stated that the total penalty amounts to ₹7,00,000 and that further details are available in the TRAI order. instant