Even while government telco MTNL launches India’s very first 3G services in the capital and also partnered with Aksh Optifiber to provide mobile TV services in Mumbai and Delhi, TRAI’s idiosyncrasies keeps getting the auction for the 3G services postponed indefinitely.
Foreign telecoms firms looking to enter India by offering 3G services in the world’s fastest-growing market for wireless services, will have to pay a higher annual fee for radio waves, the sector regulator said on Wednesday. However, in return of the privilege, they shall be expected to pay up 3% of their revenues as annual fees.
The Trai has also informed the DoT that the government should charge 2% of the highest bid amount as the annual administrative charge on 3G spectrum during the validity period of the licence. The DoT has to place this proposal before the Telecom Commission for clearance. If it succeeds, the licence cost will go further up for the 3G spectrum operator. The regulator’s move to propose an administrative charge for using 3G radio frequencies is aimed at ending the ongoing controversy about the methodology for calculating this levy.
The regulator also clarified that as “the operators will take time to roll-out their services after the allocation of spectrum, it has proposed a moratorium of one year from the date of allocation of spectrum in respect of payment of administrative charge”. Reacting on the news, T V Ramachandran, Director General of the Cellular Operators in India, commented, “This will impact the 3G bids — all operators will factor this additional levy and place lower bids for 3G spectrums. The finance ministry may therefore object to the TRAI proposal.”
At a time when TRAI is walking quite a few extra miles to popularize technology in the common man’s hands, such a hike in prices would result into premium charges for 3G services in the country. For a country that already faces problems of inadequate information and decent usage of high-end mobile handsets, leave alone other mobile devices, such measures just might hinder the popularization on essential technologies like 3G on a large scale.
