Shares of telecom service providers are in limelight on the bourses ahead of the Cabinet meeting today to consider a fresh proposal on prospective spectrum pricing.
“The Cabinet is likely to discuss today contentious issue of one-time spectrum charge that Department of Telecom (DoT) has proposed to levy on incumbent telecom operators for the remaining period of their license,” reports suggest.
The finance ministry, along with the Planning Commission, had opposed the telecom department's proposal to charge the auction-discovered spectrum fee for 2G mobile services from existing operators even if their licenses are years away from renewal.
Meanwhile, the telecom tribunal reportedly gave a split verdict today in the 3G intra-circle roaming case. The tribunal has reportedly asked the operators to appeal at a higher court after the tribunal split its vote with one in favour of the government and the other in favour of the carriers.
Among individual stocks, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have soared 4% each, followed by Reliance Communications (up 2.5%) on back of huge volumes on the Bombay Stock Exchange.