The head of leading telecom companies have warned that have warned that the proposal of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 2 G spectrum allocation would be devastating for the telecom industry and service providers.

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, Vodafone Chief Executive Vittorio Colao, Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Telenor Chief Executive Officer Jon Fredrik Baksaas held meetings with the country's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal.

They also expressed concerns over the recommendations given by TRAI on 2 G spectrum allocation to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. The leaders also called upon Pulok Chatterji, Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma to point out that the industry is concerned over the recommendations.

The TRAI has proposed a reserve price of Rs 3,622 crore for 1MHz of pan-India 2G spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band as against Rs 380 crore, which was set for auctions in 2008. Telecom service providers and experts say that if the recommended reserve price is accepted then this could increase costs for the players and will ultimately make service more expensive for the consumers.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) have also released a joint statement saying that recommendations are shocking and described them as being arbitrary, regressive and inconsistent.