Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it can demonstrate a mechanism to segregate revenues earned from 4G services on different spectrum bands. This comes after the committee of DoT had stated that segregating revenues earned from different spectrum bands would be a complex task, which will require constant auditing and monitoring by the government.
The committee had also provided a list of at least eight instances where revenues earned by operators cannot be segregated at all. These include revenue from value-added services, unused vouchers and bundled/combo tariff plans.
However, RJIL has stated that it will give a quarterly report giving details of revenues earned from services offered through the 2300 MHz and 1800 MHz bands separately. It further added that 4G systems, unlike legacy telecom systems, provide real-time data of charging information with clear identification of spectrum used for each transaction.
At present, telecom companies like RJIL and Bharti Airtel hold spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands which can be used to offer 4G services. Each frequency band attracts a different spectrum usage charge (SUC). While companies holding spectrum in the 2300 MHz are required to pay an SUC of 1 per cent, those with spectrum in the 1800 MHz band will have to pay an SUC of 5 per cent on average. Consequently, the DoT committee has raised concerns that service providers may under-report revenues earned from a particular frequency band.
In this regard, the committee has recommended that DoT should come out with a clear set of guidelines specifying what needs to be done at the network level. It has also suggested that DoT charge a higher revenue share on services such as value added services. DoT will now consider the committee?s recommendations before sending its opinion to the Telecom Commission for its approval.
