Business Standard

Jio seeks apology from COAI’s Mathews

- KIRAN RATHEE New Delhi, 28 September

Reliance Jio has sought an apology from and action against Cellular Operators Associatio­n of India (COAI) Director General Rajan S Mathews for reportedly calling it a “back-door operator”.

“We have already put Rajan S Mathews on notice, demanding an apology, with a copy to COAI seeking appropriat­e action,” said Jio on Wednesday. “Should they not act upon it, we will pursue legal recourse.”

In a letter on September 23, new entrant Jio had sought an overhaul of rules and regulation­s of COAI and alleged that the current norms were skewed in favour of incumbent operators. In response, Mathews had reportedly called Jio a “back-door operator” that acquired a licence through a front entity.

“COAI and Rajan S Mathews are fully aware that these allegation­s were part of a public interest litigation filed before… the Supreme Court… and all of the said allegation­s have been duly adjudicate­d upon and rejected,” said Jio. It added: “The press statement [of Mathews]... is surreptiti­ous, defamatory, and an act of contempt of the orders of the Supreme Court of India and devoid of any merit.”

The company also countered Mathews’ claim that the issues raised by Jio were bilateral and should have been addressed by the associatio­n. “He [Mathews] himself has raised several bilateral issues in external forums in the last few months without ever discussing these within the associatio­n,” it said.

Jio also alleged that all forums within the associatio­n are controlled by the incumbent dominant operators owing to their disproport­ionate voting rights.

“It is also a known fact that Tata Teleservic­es and Reliance Communicat­ions have left COAI in the past because of such biases.”

Reacting to Jio’s statements, COAI said it found the allegation­s to be without merit. “They are intended to bring disrepute to the associatio­n. We remain committed towards advancing the industry position, and our members and the consumers remain at the heart of everything we do,” COAI said.

“Contrary to Rajan S Mathews’ claim that these are bilateral issues and should have been addressed within the associatio­n, he himself has raised several bilateral issues in external forums in the last few months without ever discussing these within the associatio­n” RELIANCE JIO

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