Mahajan hints at unlimited players in cellular market

PTI (Courtsey : Indian Express 07/09/2002)

NEW DELHI: Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan on Friday hinted at the possibility of unlimited players in the cellular sector, which currently has upto four players in each circle.

"I have visualised a scenario with fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cellular operators. This is just an idea," Mahajan said at a PTC India Foundation event here.

Stating that there needed to be benchmarks if cellular sector was to be opened to unlimited players, he said, "one of the options is to make fourth cellular licence auction as a benchmark. And if one agrees, he can come as new entrant."

The Minister also hit out at private operators for levelling charges of predatory pricing against BSNL saying, "if a rate-cut by private sector is customer-oriented, why is an aggressive tariff by BSNL predatory?"

"Whatever idea comes to you (private sector) is magic. If it comes to BSNL, it is predatory," he said.

He said that while on the one hand BSNL was asked to compete with other operators, it was also being asked to go for village public telephones (VPT) in every village.

"PSUs in telecom sector is not a big brother or an elder brother," he pointed out.

Mahajan's comments come close on heels of cellular operators seeking telecom regulator's intervention to withdraw "predatory" limited mobility tariffs by BSNL.