Telcos for pricing cap in public places

India's major private telecom service providers have sought urgent intervention from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), urging it to cap charges for in-building network infrastructure at public premises such as airports.

- GULVEEN AULAKH

The move comes amid their standoff with Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) over providing connectivity.

In a letter to Trai Chairman A K Lahoti, dated January 13, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing the carriers, has demanded that the regulator examine the conduct of NMIA in denying right of way (ROW) permissions to them and “creating an exclusive, monopolistic in-building telecom arrangement at a public airport, resulting in a bottleneck situation leading to market failure”. Business Standard has seen a copy of the letter.