New Delhi, July 21: The cellular industry today said the purpose of releasing the consultation paper on unified licensing abruptly appears to be favouring the basic telecom operators and their disputed WLL licence. "The narrow scope of this unified licence, that is unifying the fixed and cellular licences, leads to speculation and concerns that this move is intended to favour the fixed service providers and their disputed WLL licences," Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a letter to TRAI chairman Pradip Baijal.

The association, however, said the industry had no intention of "suing" the authority on the consultation paper. "However, it is clear that the industry and its various stakeholders, both Indian and foreign, have a number of concerns and questions relating to the release of this consultation paper," director general, Coai, T V Ramachandran, said in the letter.

COAI also accused TRAI of the short time-frame given for responses to this consultation paper saying such a crucial and important issue would require preparation by an industry already confronting complex legal work at the TDSAT and the Supreme Court. Bureau Report