(20 February 2008 10:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel president and CEO Manoj Kohli has been inducted into the GSM Association (GSMA) Board. Constituted in 2003, the Board is an apex body that provides the GSMA's members with a stronger voice, clearer direction, and enables faster decision-making.

Kohli is one of the three members to be inducted into the board this year and will represent the GSM industry across the Indian sub-continent and the Asian region. The GSMA's Board comprises top-level representatives of some of the leading mobile operators, such as Cingular Wireless, China Mobile, Orange, Telefonica Mobiles, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

"Globally, mobile is progressing from present 85 per cent with GSM to its next technology evolution HSPA/LTE in the next 5 years, which will be great for standardisation of both equipments and handsets." Said Kohli. "With India set to contribute significant portion of future global customer growth, we should now actively participate in influencing and tracking of new technologies."

The GSMA has 25 board members including 23 operator representatives, the chair of the executive management committee - the body that manages the Association's ongoing activities in the area of products and services - and the GSMA CEO.