<p> Top telecom operators have opposed the Department of Telecom’s proposal to levy one-time fee on extra spectrum held by companies, stating there is no legal basis for its unilateral imposition. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“There is no justification or legal basis for any unilateral imposition of any additional charges in the form of one-time fee for spectrum held by operators which has been legitimately paid for in the form of higher revenue-share,” they said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 19.<br /><br />The letter was signed by Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor, Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania and Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters. <br />The Union Cabinet recently approved imposition of about Rs 31,000 crore as one-time fee on spectrum held by telecom companies. <br /><br />GSM operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea will be asked to pay for airwaves they hold beyond 4.4 MHz at an auction-determined price, while CDMA operators will have to pay for airwaves beyond 2.5 MHz. GSM operators holding more than 6.2 MHz of spectrum will have to pay a retroactive fee for the airwaves from July 2008.</p>
<p> Top telecom operators have opposed the Department of Telecom’s proposal to levy one-time fee on extra spectrum held by companies, stating there is no legal basis for its unilateral imposition. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“There is no justification or legal basis for any unilateral imposition of any additional charges in the form of one-time fee for spectrum held by operators which has been legitimately paid for in the form of higher revenue-share,” they said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 19.<br /><br />The letter was signed by Bharti Airtel CEO (India and South Asia) Sanjay Kapoor, Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania and Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters. <br />The Union Cabinet recently approved imposition of about Rs 31,000 crore as one-time fee on spectrum held by telecom companies. <br /><br />GSM operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea will be asked to pay for airwaves they hold beyond 4.4 MHz at an auction-determined price, while CDMA operators will have to pay for airwaves beyond 2.5 MHz. GSM operators holding more than 6.2 MHz of spectrum will have to pay a retroactive fee for the airwaves from July 2008.</p>
