Telecom commission defers one-time spectrum fee

New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) The Telecom Commission Tuesday deferred imposing a one-time additional fee on 6.2 megahertz of spectrum for telecom operators.

However, it has recommended that stand-alone 3G players pay 3 percent of average gross revenue as spectrum usage charges.

This implies that players who do not offer second generation (2G) mobile services but only 3G services will have to pay 3 percent of their revenue as user charges.

But existing players will have to pay only 1 percent of their revenue as spectrum user charges for offering 3G services.

The commission also recommended a 1 percent increase of fee across slabs up to 8 megahertz of spectrum and 2 percent increase above 8 megahertz. These will be applicable from Jan 1, 2009.