TDSAT halts Bharti disconnection

India’s Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has prevented state-backed telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) from disconnecting Bharti Airtel from its networks in the Jammu and Kashmir circle, reports the Indian Express. Bharti had admitted that in the process of installing its own cabling, it had caused damage to BSNL’s cables in three places, though it says that BSNL has exaggerated the damage caused. The dispute over the damages led BSNL to issue a disconnection notice to Bharti in July this year. Whilst TDSAT has halted the disconnection to prevent inconvenience to customers, it has ordered Bharti to pay BSNL INR300,000 (USD5,650) in damages; the amount accepted and admitted to by Bharti. However, the telco may be called on to pay an additional amount later, if BSNL’s infrastructure is found to have suffered greater damage.