New Delhi, April 25: Fixed-line telephony will be exempt from licence fee to encourage service providers, especially in the private sector, to connect rural areas.
“I have already asked the Telecom Commission to consider exempting fixed line telephony from licence fee, charged as a percentage of adjusted gross revenue (AGR),” telecom minister A. Raja said.
“I call upon all stakeholders (PSUs and private operators) to come forward and connect all the villages,” he added.
Around 70 per cent of the population do not have access to a phone connection.
“On behalf of the government, I assure you all help to go to rural areas.”
State-run BSNL will be the biggest beneficiary of Raja’s announcement, saving about Rs 1,200 crore annually. Nearly 90 per cent of fixed line telephone connections in the country are provided by the PSU.
BSNL has an annual revenue of about Rs 15,000 crore from its fixed line operations and pays on an average 8-9 per cent of AGR as licence fee to the government.
“In fact, BSNL has contributed much more to the universal service obligation fund instead of getting subsidy from the government for the fixed line operations,” said Kuldip Goyal, chairman and managing director of BSNL
“I am really happy with the announcement. If fixed line services are exempted from the AGR’s purview, our rural expansion plans will get a major boost,” Goyal added.
Bharti Airtel also welcomed the move saying, “Fixed line telephony needs encouragement and it should not be burdened by taxes.”
Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal said, “I am delighted. Fixed-line telephony must receive funds and operators should not be burdened with a host of levies.”
3G spectrum
Spectrum for third generation (3G) mobile services will be available by next month, Raja said.
“Talks with the defence ministry for the release of spectrum for 3G services is on. The national security adviser is dealing with these issues and is interacting with defence officials. Within a month some outcome is expected,” he said.
However, the telecom regulator today rejected the DoT’s proposal to reconsider allowing foreign players to offer 3G services, saying existing players will roll out the network faster.
