Telecom Commission to discuss admin charge on 3G players

NEW DELHI: Department of Telecom will on December 19 consider adopting regulator TRAI's proposal for levying 2 per cent administrative charge from 3G players.

"Telecom Commission will discuss the TRAI proposal on administrative charge on December 19. Worldwide there are charges like this. But there is also a spectrum charge of 3 per cent.

"We have to see if this could put a burden on the prospective bidders", Telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura said here on the sidelines of India Telecom here.

TRAI on Wednesday proposed that companies successful in their 3G bids pay 2 per cent of the highest bid amount annually as administrative charges for utilising radio frequencies.

For standalone 3G players and new entrants who want to enter the Indian market via the 3G route, TRAI has proposed these companies share an additional 3 per cent of their annual gross revenues with the government.

The regulator's move to propose an administrative charge for using 3G radio frequencies is aimed at ending the ongoing controversy about the methodology for calculating to calculate this levy.