New Delhi:
The Telecom Commission is expected to finalize by Friday the guidelines for licences that are to be issued to new players that win spectrum in the auction which is due in November.
"By Friday, we expect that the final recommendation of the Telecom Commission in respect of unified licences in all aspects that will be relevant for the purpose of the auction will be available," Telecom Commission chairman and secretary, department of telecom, R Chandrashekhar, said.
The new licences will do away with different kinds of permits that are issued to telecom companies for offering various services. Like earlier licences for mobile services, the new licences will not have spectrum bundled with them.
He said the issue related to migration of licences of existing players and bringing telecom tower companies under the licensing regime will be decided at slightly later date.
"0ne of the views that was taken in today's meeting was that out of a large set of recommendations, we should prioritize and focus on those aspects that require immediate decision in the context of the auctions," Chandrashekhar said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, has proposed to bring telecom tower companies under the licensing regime and estimated that bringing IP-I (mainly telecom tower firms) under the licensing regime will fetch the government revenue of around Rs 1,900 crore per year.
The regulator has recommended bringing down foreign direct investment limit for infrastructure providers for telecom services to 74 per cent, from 100 per cent at present, within a period of three years after unified licensing regime comes into force. The move had been opposed by firms operating in this segment.
"If some of the aspects which are not immediately required for the purpose of the auction but are required for the larger licensing regime then those could be considered further at a slightly later date after some more ground work is done," Chandrashekhar said.
He said aspects relating to type of licences that will be given to new players for their service areas, eligibility conditions, services allowed under the new licences as well as things like entry fee, financial bank guarantee and performance bank guarantee are expected to be finalized on Friday.
The regulator has also recommended issuing unified licences at three levels— national, service and districting.
"By Friday, we expect that the final recommendation of the Telecom Commission in respect of unified licences in all aspects that will be relevant for the purpose of the auction will be available," Telecom Commission chairman and secretary, department of telecom, R Chandrashekhar, said.
The new licences will do away with different kinds of permits that are issued to telecom companies for offering various services. Like earlier licences for mobile services, the new licences will not have spectrum bundled with them.
He said the issue related to migration of licences of existing players and bringing telecom tower companies under the licensing regime will be decided at slightly later date.
"0ne of the views that was taken in today's meeting was that out of a large set of recommendations, we should prioritize and focus on those aspects that require immediate decision in the context of the auctions," Chandrashekhar said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, has proposed to bring telecom tower companies under the licensing regime and estimated that bringing IP-I (mainly telecom tower firms) under the licensing regime will fetch the government revenue of around Rs 1,900 crore per year.
The regulator has recommended bringing down foreign direct investment limit for infrastructure providers for telecom services to 74 per cent, from 100 per cent at present, within a period of three years after unified licensing regime comes into force. The move had been opposed by firms operating in this segment.
"If some of the aspects which are not immediately required for the purpose of the auction but are required for the larger licensing regime then those could be considered further at a slightly later date after some more ground work is done," Chandrashekhar said.
He said aspects relating to type of licences that will be given to new players for their service areas, eligibility conditions, services allowed under the new licences as well as things like entry fee, financial bank guarantee and performance bank guarantee are expected to be finalized on Friday.
The regulator has also recommended issuing unified licences at three levels— national, service and districting.
