Basic firms demand compensation

New Delhi, Aug. 22: Basic telecom operators today approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for compensation claiming that the entry fee, performance bank guarantee and rollout obligations were higher than that of the cellular service providers.

In a letter to Trai, the Association of Basic Telecom Operators (ABTO) today claimed that prior to implementation of the National Telecom Policy 1999, basic operators had paid a higher amount as entry fee on an average per licence per year basis.

The association claimed that it had paid 50 per cent higher performance bank guarantee than cellular mobile operators. The cellular operators have a lenient rollout obligation in terms of coverage of 50 per cent of district headquarters/towns in lieu thereof over a three-year period from their effective date of licence.

Basic operators claimed that they had to cover 80 per cent SDCA in a five-year period individually and the remaining 20 per cent collectively by private licensee in two years.