The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has expressed its concerns over the Department of Telecommunications? recommendations on spectrum usage charges.
?
In this context, the industry body has issued a press release. The release stated, ?Recent media reports have suggested that DoT, in its proposal to the union cabinet, has recommended the continuation of slab-wise spectrum usage charge regime. It has also been reported that the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on spectrum auction has suggested two options to the cabinet on the same subject, one is the continuation of the slab-wise spectrum usage charge and the second and more rational option being the implementation of uniform spectrum usage charge.?
?The GSM Industry, which is a victim of a discriminatory spectrum usage regime based on slab based charges, has been raising this issue with the DoT and urging it to ensure a level playing field with the dual spectrum operators, who pay separate spectrum charges for 800 MHz and 1800 MHz and enjoy lower fee.?
?COAI supports the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India?s (TRAI) recommendation dated April 23, 2012 that states the spectrum usage charge be set at a uniform fixed rate of 1 per cent, which was to cover, principally, administrative costs. While EGoM may have recommended a higher fixed fee of 5 per cent; we agree that a ?fixed fee? approach, closer to the TRAI recommendations, is the more logical one.?
?This is despite the TRAI recommendations in 2007, when the dual spectrum licences were allowed, that these operators pay spectrum usage charge on the combined spectrum of all bands namely 800, 900 and 1800MHz. The DoT has also departed from its own 2004 M&A guidelines which specifically stated that after the merger of CDMA and GSM licenses, the combined entity will pay the spectrum usage charge based on the combined AGR from GSM and CDMA spectrum. However, dual spectrum operators continue to benefit through lower spectrum charges by paying separate charges on CDMA and GSM spectrum, causing significant losses to the exchequer.?
?This ongoing discrimination has resulted into a loss of more than Rs 12 billion to the national exchequer till date. If not corrected, the nation stands to lose another Rs 53 billion over the next 10 years.?
?COAI hopes the cabinet will arrive at a decision that is fair and ensures a level playing field within the industry. We urge the government to introduce nominal uniform spectrum usage charge applicable to all spectrum bands namely 800, 900 and 1800 MHz. It is also recommended that should the government decide to extend the slab-wise spectrum usage charge regime, it must ensure that the dual spectrum operators pay spectrum charge on their total spectrum holding and not on separate spectrum bands.?
