COAI Seeks Bare Minimum Regulation From TRAI: Rajan Mathews

In recent times, TRAI has released a consultation paper on floor rate for data service of the operators.

By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 20 January 2020 13:22 IST

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DG of COAI Rajan Mathews (2nd from left) said that TRAI must be involved with minimal type of things

HIGHLIGHTS

• COAI has sought minimum regulation from the telecom regulator
• It wants TRAI to intervene only when there is breakdown of market forces
• Keep the regulations at the bare minimum, Rajan Mathews said

Industry body COAI has sought minimum regulation from the telecom regulator to ensure smooth operation of the industry and intervene only when there is a breakdown of the market forces.

"Telecom regulator must be involved with 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", Rajan Mathews, Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) director general told IANS.

He said TRAI can introduce new technology, dealing with unwanted commercial calls and customer complains. When TRAI introduced steps for removing unwanted commercial calls, there was a big cost on the industry as TRAI wanted adoption of blockchain and other measures.

"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.