BSNL seeks exemption from Rs 3,000-crore licence fees

The state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is planning to seek exemption from paying licence fees, stating a clause under the National Telecom Policy of 1999 (NTP ‘99). At present, the company pays around Rs 3,000 crore per annum as licence fee to the exchequer.

“We have been informally asking the government that both the public sector telecom companies, BSNL and MTNL, should be exempted from paying the telecom licence fee. It was mentioned in NTP ‘99 that state-owned telecom companies need not pay this, even though we have always paid the fee,” BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal told Business Standard.

BSNL is planning to take up the matter with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the licensor of telecom services in the country. NTP ‘99 is the telecom policy governing telecom services in the country.

Telecom companies pay around 8 per cent of their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) as telecom licence fee to the government. BSNL, an unlisted company, pays around Rs 3,000 crore.

The telecom, which has been recording an erosion of revenues, mainly due to surrendering of landline phones, is foraying into IT and managed services as an alternative mode of revenues.

BSNL is gearing up to provide end-to-end managed services, including IT security (firewall) and implementation, for which the company has already roped in global IT major Cisco. The telecom company is also looking at entering into similar tie-ups — with both Indian and global firms companies — to increase its range of services.

Importantly, BSNL is also exploring an option to tie up with companies like Cable&Wireless, British Telecom and AT&T, among others, to provide international virtual private network (VPN) connections.

This, apart from helping the company to arrest its revenue fall, would also enable it to compete with private players in the country.

BSNL, which has launched an on-demand digital entertainment service jointly with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, expects revenues from value added services (VAS) to increase to around 12 per cent from the present 6 per cent. BSNL and Hungama Digital have jointly launched a portal — BSNL-Hungama.com — that has entertainment content.