New telecom operators join COAI

New telecom operators who have been given licences to operate pan-India GSM mobile services are all set to fight a bitter battle with the established GSM players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

But that has not deterred them from joining the powerful GSM lobby, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), controlled by the old boys in the business.

Swan Telecom, S-Tel and Bycell Telecom have all applied and have been accepted as members of the association recently.

Confirming the development, COAI director general TV Ramachandran said, "Three new operators have joined our association and we expect more to come in."

The move is considered significant as many in the industry had floated the idea that the new players, because of their conflicting interests with the older GSM players, might set up a separate association to rival COAI.

They point out that the COAI had raised the issue of limiting the number of players in the industry, considering the shortage of spectrum. But instead, with the new players coming in, the number will swell to 11 0r 12 operators.

The COAI has also come under flak from its members earlier. B K Modi, who controls Spice Telecom, has openly alleged that the association, where voting rights on issues are based on the companies' subscriber base, has been monopolised by two big players.