India, April 21 -- The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing India's leading telecom service providers - Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, has strongly opposed the illegal and anti-consumer model adopted by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) for the provision of telecom infrastructure on Metro Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Aarey corridor).

At the heart of the issue lies MMRC's decision to award the deployment of telecom infrastructure to a third-party IP-I vendor, in violation of existing regulations. Under the current telecom licensing framework, IP-I providers are prohibited from deploying active infrastructure. This action not only breaches the Telecommunication Act, 2023, but also sidelines licensed Tel...