Cell players against high entry fee in new regime

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) today said the high entry fee proposed in the unified licensing recommendations would favour long-distance and integrated players, putting pure-play telecom like service providers at a disadvantage.

"The high registration charges are an exorbitant entry barrier especially as they need to be amortised over a brief period of 5 years. The authority (Trai) needs to review the high level of registration charges for long-distance services and recommend a suitable reduction in the same, which is in consonance with its own principles and objectives enunciated for unified licensing," the COAI said in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

In its recommendations, the Trai had proposed a Rs 107 crore entry fee for acquiring unified licence.

The cellular association also said both national and international long distance services should not be bundled into one package.

"By bundling the two charges, the authority will be disadvantaging operators who are say, interested only in providing national or international long distance services," it said.

Under the current regime, the entry fee for national and international long distance services services are prescribed at Rs 100 crore and Rs 25 crore, respectively. The Trai had recommended a fixed price of Rs 107 crore for both the services.

The COAI said national and international long distance charges should be fixed on the service area basis.

"An operator offering services in four circles should not pay the same fee as that paid by a service provider operating in 16 circles," TV Ramachandran, director-general, COAI said.