The Telecom Commission has also cleared DoT’s proposal to impose a one-time spectrum levy of 3 per cent of the aggregate gross revenue (AGR) on telecom companies that will offer only 3G mobile services.

The Telecom Commission has also cleared DoT’s proposal to impose a one-time spectrum levy of 3 per cent of the aggregate gross revenue (AGR) on telecom companies that will offer only 3G mobile services. Existing operators entering the 3G space will have to pay an additional 1 per cent of their AGR as 3G usage charge. At present, telecom operators pay 2-6 per cent as spectrum usage charges, depending on the amount of spectrum they hold, for 2G services. The commission has also endorsed a 1-2 per cent hike in the usage charges for 2G spectrum. The hike will be a flat 1 per cent for operators that hold up to 8 MHz of spectrum. Beyond this limit, the charges would go up by a flat 2 per cent. The new charges will be effective from January 1, 2009.