INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
setting floor price on tariffs and the Digital Communications Commission will meet in the second half of December where it may take up the
issue of spectrum auctions.Tariffs are under TRAI and under forbearance and the government cannot intervene
There is no reference from Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to TRAI on any floor price for tariffs, Mr Prakash said.At present, mobile
tariffs are under forbearance, which means operators have a free hand in fixing rates as they only have to report tariff plans to TRAI
within seven days of the launch.The issue of floor price was being discussed by a secretary panel as a step to check further erosion of
losses by the telcos and to boost the financial health of the sector
The panel has already submitted its recommendations where a two-year moratorium was given to telcos on spectrum dues payment.He also added
the telecom department is trying to hold the auction in the current fiscal."That's the target to hold auction in this fiscal", Mr Prakash
said adding spectrum price issues have to be discussed within DoT.Post AGR, the secretary said the department will try to recover legitimate
dues that the telecom companies owed to the government
On the issue of non-telecom companies coming under AGR, he said DoT has been collecting licence fees and spectrum fees not just from telcos
but also from non-telecom companies like PGCIL, Gail, and RailTel.Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices have filed review petitions
before Supreme Court against the AGR order where they have been asked to cough up approximately Rs 1.02 lakh crore together.In 2016 when
Reliance Jio entered the telecom space with free data and voice tariffs there was near mayhem in the sector when existing telcos approached
the regulator to consider setting up a floor price as their revenue streams started shrinking
Back then, TRAI had said a floor price "was not a workable idea" and, subsequently, operators too were in agreement.Floor price means it
will be a loose intervention by the state on price
Prices are seen as market forces dynamics.Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on
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