Hurt, dismayed by TRAI 'cartel' remarks in Supreme Court: Telcos

NEW DELHI: Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) and several Indian Telecom Service Providers are surprised and are deeply dismayed by the misplaced, baseless and rather misleading remarks made against them in the Supreme Court by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in respect of the its business practices and ethics insinuating that the industry has indulged in cartelization.

a “cartel” of 4-5 telcos having a billion subscribers are making Rs 250 crore a day but not making investments on their network to improve services to check call drops, government told the Supreme Court, a day ago.

"The industry is deeply hurt by such strong remarks especially when it is a well-known and acknowledged fact that huge investments have been made by the operators which has yielded in connecting and empowering a billion people. At the same time, it is universally known the world over, that the Indian telecom service providers charge the lowest tariffs in the world, while paying one of the highest spectrum charges and other levies," COAI said in a statement.

"Further it is also equally known that the industry has leveraged its financial ability and taken on debt to the tune of Rs. 3.8 lakh crore, to further invest a cumulative figure of over Rs. 8 lakh crore, not only to meet its service obligations but in strongly partnering the Government at every step to shoulder the massive responsibility of providing the highest standards of service quality and in establishing the best technology infrastructure. This has resulted in the success of Indian Telecom and in making the sector a poster boy of India’s economic growth," it said.

"We, therefore, respectfully request and urge the concerned authorities to refrain from the use of such harsh and unsubstantiated language at any forum against the telecom service providers, which is not only uncalled for but also projects them in a poor light. This is more so especially when one takes into account the very substantial contributions made to the Indian socio-economic landscape, through generation of multiple tax revenues, employment generation, as well in acting as a major growth engine and driver to the internet economy," it added.