NEW DELHI -- Established in 1995 as the key industry representation body for mobile telecommunications, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has further expanded its membership base by accepting some of the world's leading telecom giants as members of COAI. Major Industry Players CISCO India, Huawei Technologies, Qualcomm, RIM and Alcatel Lucent have joined as Associate Members.

Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, Chairman COAI, extended a warm welcome to the new members. He stated that "The telecommunication industry in India has shown unprecedented growth in a short span of time setting new global benchmarks. Today we generate employment for millions and we also have a direct impact on the country's GDP growth. This will only increase multifolds with the advent of pan-India broadband and 3G technology. I strongly believe that the entire telecom ecosystem needs to work coherently and symbiotically to achieve this objective. The industry players - our new members, have contributed to the enormous growth of telecom in the past and have an even larger role to play in today's dynamic environment. With this inclusion, COAI is well positioned to continue its strong leadership in facilitating the delivery of world class and affordable communication services."

Mr. Sanjeev Aga, Vice Chairperson COAI stated that we wholeheartedly welcome our new members to the COAI family. He further added that membership in COAI brings with it the responsibility of making the mobile telecommunications industry in India, the "gold standard", even for global players.

With the advent of 3G and Broadband services and the promise of 4G, LTE and other technologies and services on the horizon, COAI is keenly aware that the eco-system required to sustain world class mobile services depends increasingly on an ever widening circle of players drawn from industries hitherto unrelated to telecommunications. The National interest of promoting manufacturing in India (of handsets and telecommunications equipment) is vitally dependent on increasing the nation's store of IP capital. This in turn requires close cooperation with our leading academic institutions. The need for customer driven content, especially over the web, requires our network service providers to establish relationships with the news media, entertainment sources, gaming, VAS providers and other IT oriented companies. The convergence of our network platforms around data requires new relationships with network hardware and software vendors. All of this will also lead to fresh requirements around the policy and regulatory frameworks presently in place. With these imperatives in mind, COAI, through its members, is committed to leading the way forward.

Cellular Operators Association of India