NEW DELHI: Telecom ministry on Wednesday said currently the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is not considering any proposal to raise revenue sharing rate payable by telecom operators.
The present revenue sharing rate payable by telecom operators is 8% of adjusted gross revenue or AGR, inclusive of the USO (Universal Service Obligation) levy, which is currently 5% of AGR, said Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
Under the unified licence regime introduced in August 2013, there is a uniform licence fee on AGR across all telecom licenses. Currently, an applicant can apply for a unified licence (all services) along with authorisation for offerings, including access service (service area wise), internet service (categories A, B and C), national long-distance services, international long-distance service, global mobile personal communication by satellite service, among others. Answering another question, the minister said new entrants in the sector are applying for licences to provide telecommunications services on a regular basis.
“755 licences have been granted to new entrants between January 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022,” Chauhan added. As per details available, 3,303 licences granted to telecom service providers were valid as of March 31, 2022. Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday approved Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks as the final participants for the upcoming 5G auction that is scheduled to start on July 26.
The government plans to auction 72 Ghz of spectrum valid for 20 years, which is worth Rs 4.3 lakh crore at the base price. Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, submitted the highest earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 14,000 crore, Airtel put in an EMD of Rs 5,500 crore, cash-strapped Vodafone Idea (Vi) submitted EMD of Rs 2,200 crore, while new entrant Adani Data Networks deposited Rs 100 crore.
Telecom licence
Under the unified licence regime introduced in August 2013, there is a uniform licence fee on AGR across all telecom licenses. As per data, 3,303 licences granted to telcos were valid as of March 31, 2022