New Delhi: After making a direct appeal to e-tailers, industry body COAI has now sought Department of Telecom (DoT)’s intervention to stop the rampant sale of mobile signal boosters and repeaters on certain e-commerce sites despite restrictions, saying sale of such illegal items not only violates norms but also hampers service quality for subscribers. After its ‘cease and desist’ appeal to e-tailers to stop the sale of telecom signal boosters met with partial success, Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) has informed DoT that while a few e-commerce companies have removed the items, “some are still selling it”.
COAI said it had previously pointed out to e-commerce companies the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) Wing’s directive of May 2016 on online sale of wireless sets and equipment. In particular, COAI has mentioned Amazon’s stance on the matter — that the onus of complying with laws in this regard rests with sellers. COAI has further asked DoT’s WPC wing to firmly put on record its past position of 2016 that in event of such sale, the responsibility lies not only with sellers and buyers but also with the e-commerce site which acts as the platform/intermediary. Amazon replied to it saying they have responded to WPC on the issue, COAI noted.