DoT slaps 3 per cent licence fee on 3G mobile operators

Mumbai: The department of telecommunications will to impose an annual licence fee of three per cent of revenue on those mobile operators who will offer 3G services on stand-alone basis, telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura said.

Existing 2G players, who would also offer 3G services, would have to pay one per cent of their total revenue to the government as revenue share, Behura, who is also the Chairman of Telecom Commission, said.

The commission, however, did not take a decision on the one-time spectrum enhancement charge on 2G radio waves.

The Telecom Commission, meanwhile, has approved the DoT proposal to impose one per cent additional spectrum usage charges for spectrum below 8 MHz and two per cent foe spectrum above 8 MHz, effective 1 January 2009, Behura said.

At present, the operators pay 2-6 per cent of spectrum usage charges, which would now become 3-8 per cent from January 2009.

The one-time spectrum fee plan has been deferred for the time-being. (See: Govt to raise annual fees for telcos; charge for spectrum above 6.2 MHz)