Hike in customs duty on telecom equipment to raise cost of telecom services in India

NEW DELHI: The increase in basic customs duty from 10% to 15% on certain specified telecom equipment will increase the cost of providing services for telecom service providers (TSPs), says the Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI).

The COAI, which represents the three private telecom operators – Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea – reasoned that the increasing cost is due to telecom operators continuously upgrading their networks with the advent of new technology.