Rejecting Reliance Jio's allegations of acting as a mouthpiece of dominant players, cellular operators’ body on Tuesday said it has been abiding by the association rules in its communication to the Government on the new entrant’s 4G test programme and interconnect issues.
“Where there is no unanimity (on issues), the association bylaws state that majority views have to be expressed. That is what happened in this case. We followed the protocol and noted in our letter that one of our members, RJio, has a minority view, and that they have expressed their views separately on the issue,” Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI told the news agency. Mathews said COAI's position reflected the majority stance as determined through voting shares that is based on member company’s revenue. “Members may feel that it is not appropriate but when they join the association they are informed about the bylaws, and they agree to abide by the bylaws before becoming members,” he said.
Asked if the internal strife between existing players and the new operator was enough to split the 6-member association, Mathews said, “No. We don’t want the association to break.” “Such matters should be discussed fairly and transparently. It is in the spirit of a competitive landscape and clarification is good for the industry. That clarification can only come from DOT and TRAI,” Mathews pointed out.