COAI suggests 6% revenue share

Cellular Operator's Association of India has pushed for a number of policy initiatives, including adjusting the licence fee paid by the operators as the entry fee for migrating to the proposed full unified licencing regime, bringing down the annual revenue share to 6 per cent from the existing average of 10 per cent and the abolition of all rollout obligations in the new unified regime.

In its response to the consultation paper on unified licence floated by the telecom regulator, COAI has said that Trai must follow the example of UK's convergence bill, where if an operator has paid Rs. 100 crores for a 20-year license and that license becomes in-fructuous after say 10 years, then the pro-rata entry fee for the period of 10 years should be refunded or adjusted against the future dues of the licensee.

Setting a roadmap towards unified licence, cellular operators said if Internet Telephony was to be allowed for domestic calls, it may be necessary to move Internet Service Providers to the Unified License category, to create a level playing field with NLD licence holders.