COAI Reaches out to New Telecom Minister, MoS, Asks to Restore Sector Health

The COAI on Thursday said that it seeks the support from the new ministers for deploying infrastructure and improving the financial health of the telecom sector as it prepares for 5G.

Look Forward to Working with New Leadership - COAI

The Delhi-based group congratulated both Vaishnaw and Chauhan on taking charge of their portfolios. It also added that the group would be honored to join forces with them. COAI said it will seek cooperation towards the development and growth of the telecommunications industry in India.

SP Kochhar, DG, COAI, said, "as the industry readies to usher 5G and catalyse the digital economy, we look forward to working with the new leadership to improve the financial health of the sector and seek their crucial support for building the right infrastructure to revolutionize the sector".

On Wednesday, PM Modi's cabinet underwent a bumper reshuffle, which saw 43 new ministers and MoS swearing in. Among those were the new Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Sanjay Dhotre as the new MoS for Communications. The new leadership will take charge of an industry demanding financial relief and a lower 5G spectrum pricing. The telecom industry struggles with low ARPUs ever since Jio's foray on the telecom landscape, back in 2016.

The telecom industry had also sought a reduction in 5G spectrum pricing from Prasad-led telecom ministry. However, there have been no progress there, as the price remains at ₹492 crore per MHz.

COAI represents India's Big Three telcos, namely, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The group also supports multinational equipment vendors such as Cisco, Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson, Ciena, Juniper and ZTE.