News
Telecom Commission sticks to weighted average charge with 3% floor price; Cabinet to vote next week.
India’s Telecom Commission this week shared details of how it proposes to calculate spectrum usage charges levied on the country’s mobile operators, a move that could pave the way for the planned multi-band auction to take place in September.
The Telecom Commission rejected a pricing formula suggested by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), proposing instead to stick with a weighted average charge, but with a floor price of 3% of revenue, the Economic Times explained.
The Commission ruled that the TRAI’s method was too complicated.
Citing sources at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the paper noted that Reliance Jio Infocomm and Aircel will face higher spectrum usage charges as a result than they would otherwise have done.
The market’s larger operators, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which pay greater usage charges due to higher revenues, had lobbied unsuccessfully for a flat percentage fee across all spectrum bands and all operators.
The Telecom Commission’s proposal will be considered by the Cabinet next week, the paper said. Presuming Cabinet approval is forthcoming, the auction would be able to take place within 45 days.
Thus, in theory at least, the auction should be able to go ahead in September.
