New Delhi: Telecom operators have opposed the public wi-fi model recommended by the sector regulator Trai, saying it will adversely impact the debt-ridden industry and compromise national security.
Based on existing rules for cyber cafes, Trai had recommended that a new set of players to be called Pubic Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) should be allowed to resell internet services through yesteryears PCOs type of set-up that will be called Public Data Offices.
The regulator had recommended that like cyber cafes, which provide internet access to public after registering themselves, PDOA should be allowed to provision internet access services after registering themselves with the telecom department. “...the proposal to sell internet services without a licence, will be a complete bypass of present licensing framework, detrimental to massive investments already made in spectrum, telecom infrastructure... Additionally, we believe it will seriously compromise national security,” COAI DG Rajan S. Mathews said in a letter to telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan.
