Aurelia Menezes on Telecom Operators’ Rights and Non-Discriminatory Network Access at Airports
Aurelia Menezes has highlighted the strong legal position of telecom operators in the ongoing dispute concerning network rollout at the Navi Mumbai International Airport, as reported by Mint.
Commenting on the issue, she observed that India’s Right of Way (RoW) framework under the Telecommunications Act and the RoW Rules is expressly designed to ensure fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory access for all licensed telecom service providers. This statutory intent, she noted, applies equally within large public infrastructure projects such as airports, which play a critical role in national connectivity.
While acknowledging that airport operators may favour common or neutral-host network models for reasons of logistical efficiency, Aurelia cautioned that mandating telecom operators to operate through an exclusive vendor particularly on commercially onerous terms raises serious concerns around competitive neutrality and statutory compliance. Such arrangements, she noted, risk undermining the principles of open access embedded within India’s telecom regulatory framework.
Drawing from global practices, she further highlighted that although shared or neutral-host models are widely adopted at international airports, they typically function under robust regulatory oversight. These models are characterised by open access and reasonable, non-discriminatory pricing, rather than exclusivity that restricts market participation.
Aurelia’s observations reinforce the broader regulatory expectation that infrastructure development, even in complex public-private environments, must align with statutory safeguards designed to promote competition, consumer choice, and seamless digital connectivity.
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