“Such an arrangement is impermissible under the telecom regulatory framework as the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and the applicable permit conditions do not allow the granting of exclusive right-of-way or the creation of monopoly arrangements for granting right-of-way for the purpose of building a telecom network,” Kochhar said, adding that an exclusive arrangement effectively eliminates competition and forces all licensed telecom service providers to operate under a single telecom service provider. undermining competition, consumer choice and regulatory neutrality.
