Indian telecom watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), is examining the pricing issues which the companies are facing in deploying network at the Adani Group-owned Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIAL), reported the news agency PTI, citing an official aware of the development on Wednesday, 21 January 2026.
According to the agency report, TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said that the industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) approached the regulator to intervene in the pricing issues. The regulator has reportedly sought more details around the price that telecom operators have paid in the past for setting up networks.
“The letter that COAI has written has raised four issues. Three of those pertain to right-of-way. There is one issue regarding the pricing. We have asked for certain details from COAI regarding how they have entered into agreements in the past. We will study those, and then we will take further action,” Lahoti told the news agency.
The Chairman also said that the regulator will not require any specific reference from the government, and it can proceed with the case based on the reference received from the industry body.
The laws mandate that the Right-of-way (RoW) are the rule, which refers to the deployment and operation of telecom infrastructure by service providers on public and private property.
What did COAI claim?
According to the agency report, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) reached out to the telecom department for intervention, stating that its member telecom service providers (TSPs), including companies like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Vodafone Idea, had approached Navi Mumbai airport to seek requisite approvals to deploy their telecom networks, like In-Building Solutions (IBS) infrastructure, to provide seamless 4G and 5G connectivity within the airport premises.
“However, contrary to the statutory framework under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, and the RoW Rules 2024, NMIAL has declined to grant the necessary permissions,” COAI alleged, according to the agency report.
Navi Mumbai airport said that the IBS telecom infrastructure for mobile network was procured and installed after multiple discussions with individual TSPs and government-owned BSNL, and is in the advanced phase of testing for the use of IBS at the airport.
“We are rigorously following up with TSPs to conclude the discussions. We welcome individual TSPs to discuss and mutually agree on rates. However, we will not give in to any cartelisation in this regard,” NMIAL said in the statement, cited in the agency report.
Further, NMIAL said that contrary to the COAI allegations, RoW has never been denied to any TSP at the airport, and that it has regularly communicated and discussed with TSPs and already offered the IBS services at charges in line with the existing industry standards, to which the TSPs are yet to revert.
