Trai scales down access deficit rate

 As a result, the ADC to be paid by telecom companies will go down from Rs 13,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore.

 It will also allow forbearance in tariffs for fixed-line operators, which means basic service operators will have the freedom to fix their rentals without getting it cleared by Trai.

 In its consultation paper, the regulator had justified the need for a cess on the ground that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) was facing an annual deficit of nearly Rs 13,000 crore (which is about 30 per cent of the Rs 40,000 crore revenue earned by the telecom industry) for providing subsidised local calls.

 The new estimate has pegged the ADC at Rs 4,000 crore, which is 10 per cent of the total revenue generated in the telecom sector.

 Trai wants the burden of the deficit to be shared by all telecom operators, including cellular service companies, international long distance and national long distance operators.

 Private telecom operators had hotly contested BSNL