Trai not mulling raising revenue sharing rate paid by telcos

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is not considering any proposal at present to raise the revenue sharing rate payable by telecom operators, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The present revenue sharing rate payable by telecom operators is 8 per cent of AGR, inclusive of the USO (Universal Service Obligation) levy, which is presently 5 per cent of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue), Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

On whether Trai has any proposal to raise the revenue sharing rate in future, the minister said, "There is no such proposal under consideration in TRAI at present."

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Under the Unified License regime introduced in August 2013, there is a uniform license fee on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) across all telecom licenses, he further explained.

Presently, an applicant can apply for a unified license along with authorisation for offerings, including Unified License (all services), access service (service area wise), internet service (Categories A, B and C), national long-distance services, international long distance service, global mobile personal communication by satellite service, among others.

Other services include public mobile radio trunking service, very small aperture terminal closed user group service, audio conferencing/audiotex/voice mail services, and machine-to-machine.

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To another question, the minister said new entrants in the telecom sector are applying for licenses to provide telecommunications services on regular basis.

"755 licenses have been granted to new entrants between January 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022," Chauhan informed.

As per details available, 3,303 licenses granted to telecom service providers were valid as of March 31, 2022.