The Hindu Business Line : Mobile firms ready to battle it out at TRAI open house

New Delhi, July 17 Even as cellular operators are set to fight it out at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) open house on Wednesday over a number of policy issues related to capping the number of mobile operators and mixed use of technology, four Members of Parliament have thrown their weight behind the camp supporting open market competition.

Mr Jitin Prasada, Mr Sanjay Dhotre, Mr Tariq Anqar and Mr P.S. Gadhavi have told the TRAI to not put a cap on the number of players in the sector.

“There is a very strong case for India with such high growth potential to leave the question of number of telecom service providers to the unfettered play of market forces,” Mr Anwar, a Nationalist Congress Party MP, said in a letter to the Communication and IT Minister, Mr A. Raja.

While GSM-based operators led by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) will push their case for capping the number of players, Reliance Communication is keen to keep the gate open for new players.

The COAI has said that with the existing operators facing a huge crunch in spectrum, it is absurd to open the sector for new players.

However, Mr Dhotre, a Lok Sabha MP and member of the Standing Committee on IT, said: “We are nowhere near the developed nations in terms of teledensity and we have a long way to go till telecom services reach the less privileged. There is enough scope for many more players to get into the field.”

This view is also supported by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Another issue that has divided the mobile operators down the middle is the issue of allowing mixed technology to a single operator.

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