Trai may opt for unlimited players in a circle

Telecom regulator Trai is understood to have recommended continuing the current practice of unlimited number of players in a service area.

"We are not mandating any cap on the number of players," a senior Trai official said. The regulator is set to give its recommendations this week.

This proposal will be at variance with the department of telecom's line of thinking. At present, there are 5-8 access providers in each of the 23 service areas.

An increase in the number of service providers for wireless and wireline access telecom services had significantly raised the demand on the limited spectrum resources for wireless access, says a DoT official.

While leading GSM operators wanted to cap the number of players in a circle, saying spectrum was a concern for more number of players, CDMA operators demanded the numbers be left to the market forces.

The regulator is also likely to propose a higher limit of 25 per cent from the current 10 per cent which a telecom company is allowed to hold in another licencee firm in the same circle. The licensor wants this cap of 10 per cent to go.

The situation when this 10 per cent limit was proposed are no more there as the industry has matured, the Trai feels. Operators should be allowed to hold stake in other companies in the same circle without any hindrance.

The 10 per cent cap had forced the Tata group to exit Idea Cellular as the Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular were operating in the same circle in most parts of the country.