Few TRAI chiefs can claim to have witnessed the kind of change and turbulence that RS Sharma has. The entry of Jio, the consolidation of the telecom industry, Net Neutrality regulations, and anti-spam regulations are some of the things TRAI has had a key role in over the last five years. Under his leadership, TRAI won international praise for strong Net Neutrality recommendations and regulations. At the same time, it also drew the ire of telecom operators for what they perceived was preferential treatment to Jio that, they claim, put existing telecom operators on the back foot. Under Sharma's leadership, the number of telecom operators in the country shrank even as customers benefited from lower data prices (which are now inching up again). Sharma's tenure ends on September 30. In interviews and remarks over the last few weeks, an agenda appears for what work remains for TRAI, as does an accounting for Sharma's five years at the helm. Optimistic about telecom industry: While the telecom industry has not always been fond of Sharma, he was full of praise — and surprisingly, sympathy — for telcos. In an interview with PTI, he said, "I have full faith in professionalism of the telecom operators. They are highly qualified and highly professional people managing technology and networks," adding that he was confident that telcos would pull through in the COVID-19 pandemic. He also complained about the taxes levied on telecom companies at the Broadband India Forum's Connecting Bharat event: "Telecom infra[structure] must become as essential…
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