DoT may stick to its 5% charge for satcom spectrum

New Delhi: The department of telecommunications (DoT) is likely to charge 5% adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as usage fee for satcom spectrum, rejecting the sectoral regulator’s proposal to levy a 4% fee. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had in December reiterated majority of its original proposals on satcom spectrum, including on pricing, despite objections from the DoT.

Officials told ET DoT has studied Trai’s clarifications on the issue and decided to stick to its option to levy 5% AGR as usage fee with a 1% discount for serving hard-to-connect areas as it is better suited and easy to implement.