COAI seeks referral of limited mobility issue back to TRAI

NEW DELHI, MAY 14. Cellular operators today asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to refer the contentious limited mobility issue back to the telecom regulator for undertaking a comprehensive and transparent review of the issue in the light of GOT-IT (Group on Telecom) recommendations.

In written communications to the DoT secretary, Mr. Shyamal Ghosh, and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman, Mr. M. S. Verma, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said the matter needed to be referred to the regulator keeping in line with the recommendations of GOT-IT, the unaddressed issue of level playing field, and the offers made by companies for radio spectrum.

Stating that the regulator should exercise its powers in the matter, the COAI wanted the TTAI to undertake a suo motu review of the entire issue and also discharge its functions as laid down in the TRAI Act, and fix the terms and conditions of inter- connectivity between the service providers, the association said in a statement here.

``The report and recommendations of the GOT-IT represented a significant departure from the position advocated by the TRAI and the stance adopted by the Government in the matter of wireless in local loop (WiLL) based mobility for fixed operators," the COAI said.

The association has also submitted that a comprehensive examination of the matter was warranted, while raking up the issue of entry fee and basis of allocation and pricing of spectrum, which it felt remained unaddressed.The association further said that the process of allocation of spectrum and issuance of letters of intent should be discontinued and the existing LoI withdrawn, pending a complete review by the TRAI of the issue.

The association said that recommendations of GOT-IT represented a departure from position advocated by TRAI which were conditional to two aspects - that WiLL mobility was not the same as cellular mobile services and that the disturbance expected to be created in the level playing field by introduction of the service could be evened out by making necessary policy changes.

- PTI

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