| Bharti's request was aimed at "creating parity with Internet service providers without any need for obtaining a separate licence under the VPN category". |
| Currently, operators holding a unified licence can provide VPN services but the terms and conditions state that they pay 15 per cent of the revenue share as licence fee. |
| The telecom department, in its reply to the service provider, has said, to avail of the option of paying 8 per cent of revenue share as licence fee, Bharti must obtain an "ISP with VPN licence" with a one-time non-refundable fee of Rs 10 crore. |
| "As regards the issue raised by Bharti for permitting a separate slab of 8 per cent aggregate gross revenue for VPN services, this is to submit that within a single licence, it is not possible/desirable to segregate revenue and consequent licence fees service-wise. |
| Further, ISP licences are freely available and most NLD operators are ISP licensees. Permission for VPN services for ISPs was granted based on the relevant guidelines," the department said. |
| The entry fee and the share of licence fee had been decided keeping in view the quantum of VPN business that ISPs would be doing vis-à-vis the total leased line business of NLD/ILD operators and access providers, it added. |
| When contacted, Bharti executive told Business Standard: "Our request was academic on the grounds that, as an NLD licence holder, we did not want enforcement of yet another licence for a service that is permitted under the existing licence." |
| "This becomes an issue only after February 28 as the new guidelines, which permit offering of VPN services under the fresh licence, is effective only from March 1. We have two options: take an ISP with VPN licence and pay 8 per cent revenue share or continue offering the services under the existing licence and pay 15 per cent," he added. |
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