TTSL said that COAI only pursued the interests of some older players on issues such as reduction in interconnect charges, excess spectrum charging and national numbering plans

Terming the functioning of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), a powerful lobby of GSM operators, as "undemocratic, biased, non-transparent and unethical", Tata Teleservices (TTSL) today resigned from the core membership of the association, reports PTI.

"We have found that COAI is not a transparent association and represents the views of only a few selected old players, as all powers/rights are vested in their hands," TTSL said in a letter to Mr Rajan Mathews, director general of COAI.

"By doing so, COAI along with these few older players, has become an obstacle in the growth of the Indian telecom industry," it added.

Mr Mathews could not be contacted despite several attempts as his mobile phone was switched off.

The COAI has older players like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular as its core members. Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti Airtel, was elected chairman of COAI last week.

Tatas alleged that the COAI was focussed only on the "myopic growth of a few telecom operators", without being representative of all the members.

"TTSL does not wish to continue associating with an association which just doesn't seem to be able to work in a just and equitable manner. We, hereby, formally tender our resignation as core member of COAI," it said.

Tatas did not rule out initiating legal action against the lobby of GSM operators.

Last week, the COAI had barred TTSL, along with two other operators — Loop Telecom and Etisalat — from exercising their franchise as the companies had not paid "disputed" dues.

The company had, however, asserted that it had paid all its dues, though there were some disputed amounts. It said that the voting power was concentrated in the hands of three big operators and the other 8-10 members were virtually insignificant.

"Voting rights have been placed in the hands of a few key older players and these privileges are often abused by these players for their own advantage," TTSL said in the letter.
 
TTSL said that COAI only pursued the interests of some older players on issues such as reduction in interconnect charges, excess spectrum charging and national numbering plans.

"Due to this undemocratic modus operandi at COAI, TTSL and some of the other newer members of COAI had to approach the regulator and licensor in many a forum... that COAI was not taking all its members' views into consideration and therefore COAI's views should be disregarded," it said.

TTSL also pointed out that while the executive committee — controlled by older operators — takes the decisions on filing cases, members are expected to pay the legal expenses even for cases that are filed against them.