The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued final guidelines for the Unified Licences (UL) which will replace the existing United Access Service Licence (UASL) regime. The revised guidelines allow service providers to offer all kinds of services under one licence. In contrast, the earlier UASL regime required operators to acquire separate licences for each service.
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DoT is expected to notify these new guidelines in the next 10 days. The new guidelines bar cross-holding between service providers. According to DoT, no licensee or its promoters can directly or indirectly hold any stake in another licensee company that holds spectrum in the same service area. In contrast, the existing norms allowed mobile phone companies to hold up to 10 per cent equity in another operator in the same circle.
Further, under the new licencing regime spectrum has been de-linked from licence for which telecom operators will have to pay Rs 150 million as an entry fee while spectrum will be made available to the players through auction. The licensee will also be required to pay an annual fee equal to 8 per cent of its annual gross revenue for the term of the license; which is 20 years from the time of migration to the UL regime. The extension would be irrespective of the validity of the existing license period. Companies will be able to move to the UL system even when their licences get renewed.
The UL also allows service providers to enter into roaming pacts in the same or another service area irrespective of the spectrum band or technology used by them. However, companies will not be allowed to acquire any customers where they do not hold requisite licences since it would amount to spectrum sharing which is not allowed. These guidelines are aimed at bringing clarity on roaming pacts signed by various operators for providing 3G services in areas where they do not hold 3G licences. DoT has termed such pacts illegal and the matter is currently being heard by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal.
