Telecom License Fee

Telecom industry body COAI on Thursday sought abolition or reduction of AGR-related fees for telcos at the earliest and pitched for lowering licence fee to 0.5-1 per cent of gross revenues. COAI argued that with the separation of spectrum from the license and its assignment at market price, the justification for imposing licence fee had ceased to exist long back. The license fee should "at best" cover the cost of administration of the license only, which is around 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the gross revenues, instead of the 8 per cent paid currently. COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said payments charged on the basis of the AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) from telcos, ends up being a "double whammy" for players, who, as it is, incur huge investments towards procuring the spectrum. "It is evident that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) buy the Spectrum for utilisation through transparent auction processes, paying a substantial amount for ...

The government's licence fee collection from telecom service providers increased 8.23 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,326 crore, while spectrum usage charge mop up declined about 40 per cent to Rs 836 crore in the September 2023 quarter, according to the latest Trai report. According to the performance indicator report released by regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), operators' gross revenue (GR) declined by 1.22 per cent to Rs 82,741 crore, but adjusted gross revenue (AGR) increased by 7.43 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 66,583 crore during the reported quarter. "On a YoY basis, GR decreased by 1.22 per cent, ApGR (applicable gross revenue) increased by 6.74 per cent, and AGR increased by 7.43 per cent in the quarter ended September 2023," the report released on Friday said. Reliance Jio recorded the highest AGR of Rs 24,217.13 crore with a 9.12 per cent year-on-year rise. Bharti Airtel posted the highest AGR growth rate of 10.88 per cent at Rs 19,840.84 crore

This decision overturns previous rulings by the Delhi, Bombay, and Karnataka High Courts, which had favoured the telecom firms

COAI had earlier suggested levying a licensing fee of 8 per cent on OTTs on a recurring basis

Web conference company Zoom Video Communications (ZVC) has secured a pan-India telecom licence that will enable it to offer telephone services as well to the enterprise customers, ZVC said on Wednesday. US-based Zoom has been offering voice and video conference service through its website and app. "ZVC India, parent firm Zoom Video Communications, Inc, has received the Unified License with Access pan India, NLD National Long Distance, and ILD International Long Distance from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)," the company said in a statement. With these licences, the company will be able to offer its cloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) service 'Zoom Phone' to multinational corporations (MNCs) and businesses operating in India, the company said. "With Zoom Phone, India businesses and MNCs can support flexible work environments, foster greater collaboration among employees and elevate the customer experience, said ZVC General Manager and Head, India and SAARC Region,

The top court's order and cash-for-loans scandal later, rocked the group across verticals; its fate now hinges on SC's ruling on bankruptcy even as the quid pro quo case involving Kocchars goes on

Trai's suggestions range from marketshare math to approval timelines, and other terms

Clearly the government is pinning its hope very highly on the mega success of the spectrum auction

Jio is waiting for the tariffs numbers announcement by the telcos duo and will react after that

Officials said PGCIL, Gail, RailTel, Oil India, and DMRC are likely to be sent letters for paying the AGR that can run into crores

A government Secretaries' panel is looking at providing relief to telcos through levy reductions in licence fee and the USO Fund

In its concluding submission on AGR, the Centre said the parties have voluntarily consented to the terms of the licence agreement and are therefore bound by it

The declining sales revenue of telecom players is expected to have an adverse impact on government revenue collection