Telecom panel approves investment of Rs 2,320 cr from USO Fund

The money will be used for the improvement of connectivity in north east region

The Telecom Commission has given in-principle approval for investment of Rs 2,320.70 crore from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for improving mobile connectivity in the north eastern region, especially across the highways.

The decision comes based on the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that was given to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in September. The Telecom Commission has approved this in its last meeting on November 6, according to a recent communication.

TRAI had in its recommendations said that the Government would need to invest about Rs 2,918 crore for this purpose. But, the regulator did not give any indication on how it would be funded.

DoT had, on April 22, 2013, asked Trai for its suggestions on what needs to be done to improve telecom services in the north eastern region, and how much investment it may require.

The north eastern region constitutes of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. At present, the teledensity in these areas are just at around 40 per cent and about 10 per cent in the villages.

In its recommendations, TRAI had suggested that the DoT should offer a “discount of two per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of license fee” to telecom service providers who cover atleast 80% of habitations with a population of 250. The Telecom Ciommission  has stated that the issue is under examination by DoT.

TRAI had also recommended Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to lease their dark fibre to other telecom service providers and also to reduce their bandwith leasing charges in the north eastern region.

In its suggestions, TRAI said that the telecom operators in the north east region should enter into inter and intra circle roaming agreements (for 2G) amongst themselves within a period of six months for all the BTS (base transceiver station) along the national highways passing through the north eastern states. About one sixth (or 1,600 km) of the national highways in the region does not have any connectivity, TRAI had stated.