The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has opposed the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)?s suggestion to the government to cancel 62 licences given to five companies including Etisalat (Swan), Uninor and Videocon for not meeting the rollout obligations.
COAI has argued that these companies could not complete their rollout plan due to shortage of spectrum. According to Rajan Mathews, director general, COAI, the operators could not meet the rollout obligation due to many reasons, including shortage of spectrum and government restrictions on import of telecom equipment.
Thereafter, he said that the Association was working with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Telecommunications on a common, workable model template of agreement between the licencees and the third party equipment providers. He added that the process will be completed by December 2010, thereby paving the way for import of equipment.
When asked if allotment of additional spectrum to few players resulted in unavailability of spectrum he said that COAI will do an independent study on whether the coverage is appropriate or not. He added that he was unaware of the number of operators and circles impacted.
