49% Cap For Satphone Deals
The government will cap foreign equity at 49 per cent and fix a five per cent revenue share for Global Mobile Personal Communications by satellite operators under the terms of the licence agreement. Approval for projects will be granted only on a case-to-case basis.
The details of the satellite phone policy, which will be announced shortly, were finalised at the Telecom Commission's meeting on April 19. The new norms also fix a one-time entry fee of Rs 1 crore. The licences, which will be issued for a period of 20 years, will have a foreign investment cap of 49 per cent.
The revenue share percentage, however, has been kept open to review after every five years, subject to the ceiling of five per cent. The revenue share will be pegged on the "average gross revenue".
The revenue share percentage is the same as suggested by the erstwhile Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. TRAI was, however, divided on the issue. Three members _Arun Sinha, R R N Prasad and U P Singh _had suggested a higher percentage of 16 per cent as it would create a "win-win situation for both licensor and licensee".
The revenue share payment has to be made in four advance quarterly installments within 15 days of commencement of the first calendar month of the quarter. Also, a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore for at least a year beyond the expected commissioning date has to be submitted.
The terms also stipulate that the systems should be commissioned and services be provided within one year from the effective date of issue of the licence agreement.
In case of delays, an additional entry fee will be payable. For delays up to a year the additional fees has been kept at Rs 50 lakh, for delays between one and two year an additional Rs 1 crore will be charged while for more than two years the penalty amount remains Rs 1 crore but the licence will also be liable for termination.
The terms also include a penalty for late payment where interest will be calculated by adding two per cent to State Bank of India's PLR. Also, access charges for carriage of calls have to be paid. There is also a provision for transfer of licences with consent from the DoT.
The Signals
* Five per cent revenue share
* One-time entry fee of Rs 1 crore
* Forty-nine per ent cap on foreign investment
* Licence period of 20 years
* Case-by-case approval by a committee of secretaries
* Penalty for delayed launch of service
* Gateways to be located in India
* Gateways to be operated and maintained by a designated agency
* Interconnection through DTS/MTNL and VSNL (for foreign calls