COAI to discuss industry's financial fortunes

The executive committee meeting of the cellular operators association (COAI), scheduled for March 17, is likely to discuss the issue of the deteriorating financial health of the industry.

The industry body is also planning to commission a third-party analysis on the financial health of the Indian telecom industry, which is facing huge debt and pressure on profitability, COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

“Besides the normal updates that happen in areas like eKYC, EMF, updates on legal cases, the COAI executive meet on March 17 is also expected to discuss the state of the financial health of the industry... what do we need to do in terms of interaction with the government, what is the way forward... All of that will be discussed, resources will be voted and committed on,” Mathews said.

Stating the industry was in a state of “flux”, Mathews said, “The next three to six months are the time when the industry is really going to have to deal with the issue of how do we ensure the financial viability continues and what further consolidation could take place.”