Rajan Mathews

COAI seeks equal rules, spectrum road map in new telecom policy

The policy should have some "permanent fixes" for the failing financial health of the sector and the industry cannot be treated "as a place to go for revenue", COAI Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI.

COAI for spectrum auction only in late-2018, early next year

"The timing of the auction should be later part of 2018 or early 2019," COAI director general Rajan Mathews told PTI.

Mobile towers 'completely safe', insists COAI

"...Citizens have no reason to panic as mobile towers emit low level radiation, which is within the prescribed Department of Telecom, Government of India norms which makes mobile towers completely safe," COAI Director-General Rajan Mathews said in a statement.

Streamline audits by multiple agencies for ease of biz: COAI

"The audit process by multiple agencies in areas like revenue, billing accuracy and customer acquisition costs can be streamlined," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI.

Treat us like banks on GST, says telecom sector

The telecom sector‘s woes are expected to accelerate once the Goods and Services Tax is implemented in July. Given that the industry operates in 22 licensed service areas, the industry will be faced with multiple jurisdictions while paying GST.

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.

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.

TRAI issues a consultation paper to define promotional offers

With the consultation paper, TRAI aims to bring more clarity in interpretation of its principles as the existing features are not well defined in the tariff order.

Vodafone-Idea merger: Consolidation good for telcos, says Former Bharti Airtel CEO

On the news of a possible merger between Vodafone and Idea Cellular, Sanjay Kapoor, former CEO of Bharti Airtel says, consolidation is good for the industry's sustainability.

New rules on network rollout to reduce call drops: COAI

Cellular operators' body COAI has said that new rules on installation of mobile towers and laying of optical cables will reduce call drops, rev up broadband speeds and improve service quality for consumers.

TRAI penalty on telcos is huge; I am disappointed: Rajan Mathews

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular for allegedly violating licence norms by denying adequate interconnection points to Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Govt could be disappointed over spectrum sale outcome: COAI

The five-day spectrum auction has concluded with government minting close to Rs 65,789 crore lower than the expectation of Rs 1 lakh crore. The premium spectrum - 700 and 900 MHz - did not find any bidders due to expensive base price.

Trai debunks COAI allegations, seeks apology

Trai held a meeting with Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea to resolve the ongoing dispute over inter-connecting points but COAI, which represents incumbent players as well as RJio, was kept out of the meet.

Telecom operators' body writes to PMO over Jio

Incumbent operators have sent letters to the PMO highlighting the volume of traffic originating from Reliance Industries Jio onto their networks, said Rajan Mathews, Director-General of COAI.

Mukesh Ambani says Jio's rivals making excuses over interconnect

Jio customers suffered over 5 crore call failures to other networks in a single week because of insufficient interconnect capacity provided by incumbents, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani had told shareholders at the AGM

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.

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).

Call drops: Airtel introduces self-regulatory mechanism

Airtel said it will set aside a certain amount capped at Rs 100 crore per annum for calls dropped beyond 1.5 percent of its total volume, which is 25 percent more stringent than the TRAI's norms which are set at 2 percent of the total volume.

24th Convergence India 2016 to Showcase Technologies and Innovations to Set the Roadmap for `Digital India`

The Digital India mission of the Government of India aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. The ...

Telcos will have to pay Re 1 for every call drop: COAI

Cellular Operators Association of India's Rajan Mathews met TRAI chairman RS Sharma on Thursday afternoon to discuss the issue. Mathews said TRAI can look at changes to methodology for call drop drive tests later. A joint team from TRAI and industry will meet every two weeks to discuss the test results.