Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd wants the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to hear its side before passing any order in Vodafone Idea's appeal against the regulatory curbs on premium plans.

Reliance Jio, on whose complaint the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) resTrained Vodafone Idea and Airtel from marketing their premium plans, filed an impleadment application today.

The tribunal will hear Vodafone's appeal on Thursday as Trai sought time to file reply. Jio's application is yet to be admitted and notice has not been served to Vodafone Idea in the matter.

The bone of contention between two telecom firms pertains to Vodafone's RedX plan which was launched last November. Customers were offered unlimited local and STD calls, unlimited data, up to 50 per cent higher data speed, premier customer service and Netflix subscription. As of June, around 127,000 subscribers availed of the RedX plan.

While Jio has termed the premium data plan as discriminatory, Vodafone has called the complaint unsubstantiated and vague.

In its application to TDSAT, Jio said it would be directly affected by the outcome of Vodafone's appeal. It further said that outcome will impact the manner in which it conducts its business since it would impact fair competition and would be determinative of the tariff plans that the applicant as well as its competitors can validly offer.

In its appeal, Vodafone Idea has listed chronology of events leading to suspension of its RedX plan. On July 8, Reliance Jio complained to Trai about Vodafone's RedX scheme. On July 9, Trai informed Vodafone about the complaint and the next day sought details of the plan. On July 11, Trai asked the company to withhold the plan, it said.

Jio in its complaint to Trai said the premium data offerings were fraught with issues and could be in non compliance of regulatory oversight. Among other things it said that no opetator can give a guarantee to any customer for any minimum speed.

Vodafone Idea has said Jio's allegations were aimed to disturb its smooth functioning.

While seeking a stay on the Trai order, Vodafone Idea said the regulator acted in haste without hearing its views. The Trai order is arbitrary and illegal and amounts to pre-judging the issue, it said.

The RedX scheme was launched in November 2019 and has been in operation for last eight months and during this period Trai never raised an issue regarding the plan being non compliant, Vodafone Idea said.