New Delhi, July 23: In its relentless effort to convince telecom regulator not to pursue the Unified Licensing regime, Cellular Operators Association on Tuesday urged Trai to withdraw consultation paper on the subject till the judgement on WLL is pronounced by TDSAT. "Keeping in view the highest standards of regulatory governance, the Authority may find it appropriate to withdraw its consultation paper untill such time as free and fair statutory dispute resolution process, that is already underway, is completed," COAI said in a letter to Trai.

The association also sought clarifications from Trai on a report that indicated Trai's "predetermined mind" on the issue of unified licensing.

In a letter to Trai chairman Pradip Baijal, COAI director general T V Ramachandran said the regulator, which is a key respondent in the litigation pending before TDSAT, cannot decide the matter before the competent authority has pronounced the judgement on the same.
"Several other articles also speak about the Authority's declared preference for a Unified License, rather than a neutral position, which would usually be the norm at this very early stage of regulatory consultation," COAI alleged. Bureau Report