Trai Should Intervene With Minimum Type of Things, Says COAI

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) says the sector regulator Trai should intervene only with the minimum type of things unless there’s a major breakdown in the telecom industry. Last month, Trai floated a new consultation paper for setting floor pricing in the industry. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) always said that it doesn’t want to intervene in the tariff segment and always let telcos decide their own tariffs. Ever since the AGR setback, the future of Vodafone Idea in the country has been under the radar and the telco even approached the government to provide some relief. As part of the same discussions, Trai came up with a consultation paper for having minimum prices for voice and calls in the industry.

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COAI Says Trai Should Intervene Only in Minimum Things

Trai is the Indian telecom regulator which has the authority to implement changes in the industry. COAI, which represents the private telecom operators, says the Trai should only deal with ‘minimal type of things.’ During an interaction with IANS, COAI Director General, Rajan Mathews said “Telecom regulator must be involved with the minimal type of things. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has taken up floor pricing only because of what happened in the industry. So keep the regulations at the bare minimum, unless you see a dramatic breakdown in market forces, that is the only time the regulator should intervene.”

Furthermore, he opined that there’s no requirement for Trai intervention if the operators are working to solve the issues. “If the market is solving the problem and the operators are working together to solve the issues, then there is to be a particular reason for the regulator to intervene. That’s what is a transparent, predictable regulator,” Mathews said.