Ensure equitable work, no monopoly under access coverage scheme: COAI

Industry body COAI has pushed for an “equitable” distribution of work and subsidy for all four access services providers in covering unconnected villages and asserted that the programme “should not create any monopoly”.

Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during his interaction with CEOs of telecom companies last month had asked the industry to prioritise connecting 43,000 villages that are without mobile services, by pooling in resources to cover these locations within one year.

In a letter addressed to the new Telecom Secretary, COAI has pledged industry’s full support in collaborating with the government to take forward the initiative of accelerating mobile connectivity in villages.