British telecom firm Asergis dragged Bharti Airtel to the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) over toll-free number (TFN) blocking issue.

Asergis accused Airtel of blocking its subscribers from accessing the TFNs it leased from Tata Teleservices on the ground that calls to the TFNs were terminating outside India.

Asergis had ordered seventy-one TFNs from Tata Teleservices for a project. They initially activated one number on trial basis. But Airtel soon blocked the traffic to the TFNs, even before the project could take off.

George Adade, chief executive of Asergis, said that Airtel's act of blocking traffic to the British firm's TFNs was in violation of TRAI's Intelligent Network services regulations.

Speaking on the topic, Adade said, "Airtel blocked the traffic originating from its network to our TFN, which is in violation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's Intelligent Network services regulations."

Asergis is seeking damages of Rs 2.5 crore per week. The weekly damages amount is soaring with the conclusion of every week. The issue has already entered into fourth week.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court provide Airtel a major relief granting a stay on a government order seeking the company to stop offering 3G services through roaming agreements outside their licenced zones. The High Court barred the Department of Telecommunication from taking any 'coercive' measures against Airtel till next hearing, which it didn't spell out.