NEW DELHI, India—The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended relaxation of rollout obligations for the fourth cellular operator in four telecom circles—Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Andaman Nicobar—that did not attract any players in the last round of bidding.
The requirement of covering 50-percent district headquarters in the first three years should be modified and reduced to 25 percent, TRAI said in a ruling in response to a request made by the Department of Telecom. Instead of lowering revenue sharing or license fees, the authority has recommended that minimum prices should not be fixed at the time of bidding.
It also wants the telecom circle of Andaman and Nicobar islands to be included with the nearest mainland circle of Tamil Nadu. With the recent award of new licenses, all the telecom circles except these four will soon have three private and one government-run cellular operator each.
