TRAI says it also recommended uniform 6 per cent licence fee

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today dismissed GSM operators' concerns that its recommendation to revise 2G spectrum prices would hit them hard saying the telcos were looking at the issue from a narrow perspective.

"Telecom firms should not look at only payout charges. This is just one element of the recommendations. There are other elements which will result in huge savings for the operators," TRAI chairman J S Sarma told reporters.

He said TRAI had recommended fixation of uniform licence fees at 6 per cent of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) over a period of time, as against 6-10 per cent now, depending upon the circles. He added that TRAI had also recommended rationalisation of annual spectrum charges.

Sarma's comments came in the wake of incumbent GSM operators like Bharti, Vodafone and Idea Cellular and new service providers like Tata Docomo and Reliance Communications attacking TRAI for "irrational and discriminatory" recommendations on spectrum prices.

In fact, TRAI came in for flak from both new and old GSM service providers with accusations that the regulator's recommendations had benefited the other side.

Terming TRAI's recommendations as a complete sell-out to old GSM players, the new players said the extra spectrum hoarded by old operators would be legalised at a fraction of the actual cost.