Cellular Operators Association Of India

Private telcos raise red flag on direct enterprise spectrum allocation; warn of security threats, revenue loss

COAI said global comparisons with countries like the US, Finland, Germany, and the UK were misleading, as private networks in those markets are typically located in remote or underserved areas.

Tax reforms, regulatory relief: Indian telecom's call to action in Union Budget 2024-25

By achieving the fastest 5G rollout globally, the Indian telecom industry has showcased its potential to drive the vision of a digitally empowered India.

Proposed US bill to charge fees from large apps should be adopted in India: COAI

The proposed bill named, Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2023, has classified social media platforms, streaming service, over-the-top messaging service, video gaming service, videoconferencing service, e-commerce platform, search engines under edge services providers.

COAI warns mobile users against fraud messages, calls relating to KYC details

COAI cautioned that mischievous elements are sending fake messages and calling people, threatening to block SIM cards.

COAI says disappointed that relief for telecom did not figure in economic package

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the fifth and final tranche of the economic stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COAI says telcos provided adequate relief to low-income users: Report

The industry body on April 9 told TRAI that expecting operators to extend the benefit to all prepaid users is not appropriate.

See stability returning to telecom market by Q4 FY20: COAI

The telecom operators will look at getting more offerings like content, e-commerce and financial services aggregated onto their networks to enhance revenue streams and arrest declines in topline and bottomline, Mathews said.

PDO-based wi-fi model to hurt financial viability of telcos: COAI

Opposing the public wi-fi model recommended by the sector regulator Trai, COAI claimed that this would not just violate the Indian Telegraph Act, but lead to revenue loss for the exchequer and compromise national security.

COAI charges of favouritism baseless, says TRAI

It has alleged that orders by TRAI have put all but one operator at a huge disadvantage and that its regulations had distorted the market.

COAI chief's SOS to govt: Stop charging licence fees & SUC

Cellular Operators Association of India chief Rajan Mathews tells Moneycontrol that the government should stop charging license fees and spectrum usage charges as it is getting money upfront through spectrum auctions.

Consolidation in telecom sector may lead to 1 mn job losses

According to a GSMA report, India‘s telecom sector directly employs 2.2 million people and 1.8 million indirectly. Consolidation in the sector could cause nearly a third of these jobs to be shed.

Re-verification of old subscribers to cost Rs 2,500 cr: COAI

Re-verification of existing mobile subscribers through Aadhaar-based eKYC will cost an estimated Rs 2,500 crore, mobile operators' body COAI said today, seeking certain exemptions in the process.

Budget 2017: Telcos want lower withholding tax on prepaid cards

Telecom companies transfer prepaid vouchers and SIM cards to independent distributors at a discount, who further sell to retailers or subscribers.

Spectrum auction to take place during end of September

Earlier, there were reports that government was looking at pushing the upcoming spectrum auction by a few days to coincide with the period considered auspicious by Hindus, as requested by telecom industry.

COAI sees red over Trai's call connect review; calls it unfair

Cellular operators body COAI today termed TRAI's consultation paper on call connect charges as "unfair on incumbent operators", and questioned the regulator's urgency in initiating the process of interconnect review, which the association claimed "favours new entrants".

Spectrum to be a hardsell as telcos are stretched: Pros

Rajan S Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India also feels 1800MHz is going to be the key area of interest among the telcos. He says that even though most of the announcements were positive, the government may not be able to rake in a lot of money.

IT Min revises work on encryption policy, seeks industry views

The ministry has given the associations a deadline of August 1, for sending their feedback, and said they would be invited for a more detailed discussion in the meeting of an Expert Committee.

Significant steps being made to curb call drops: Rajan Mathews

The telecom companies in the meeting stated that there has been a significant reduction in call drop rates and that the industry has come up with a new technology to automate the monitoring of mobile networks.

Major telcos' subscriber base crosses 776-mn mark in June

The COAI shared data of six telecom operators Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Telenor and MTNL, which jointly account for about 70 of Indian mobile market share.

'Bring websites, apps, handset makers under net neutrality'

Telecom operators have demanded bringing all stakeholders such as websites, mobile applications and cellphone makers under the ambit of net neutrality regulation

Spectrum usage charges key concern for telecom industry: COAI

Clearly we'd asked for reductions in overall financial impacts viz-a-viz SUC charge, says Rajan Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

3% spectrum chrg positive for industry; Welcome govt's move:COAI

The Telecom Commission agreed on a 3 percent spectrum usage charge (SUC) for upcoming auctions across bands, while for remaining spectrum bands post 2010, the SUC will be calculated on a weighted average basis. The SUC for 2300 MHz band has been kept at 1 percent.