Telecom Commission to take up inter ministerial group recommendations on Dec 21: Manoj Sinha
, ET Bureau|
Updated: Dec 12, 2017, 07.34 PM IST
The Telecom Commission will take up recommendations on the inter ministerial group (IMG), which was set up to look at the financial troubles of the sector, on December 21, said Telecom minister Manoj Sinha.
He added that the ministry expects to take the decisions of the Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body of the telecom department, to the Cabinet for final approval by the month end.
"The recommendations of the IMG will be taken up at the TC meeting on December 21," the telecom minister said.
"We think the decisions will be taken to Cabinet by month end," minister Sinha added.
The minister added that the recommendations on net neutrality given by the telecom regulator are in line with the DoT committee that has been set up on the matter.
"The committee that DoT had made on net neutrality, Trai has give the same recommendations." Both the reports have allowed for reasonable traffic management practices and allowed for prioritizing emergency services.
The Telecom Commission is the top decision-making body within the Department of Telecommunications. The commission is also likely to consider the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) recommendations on spectrum caps and the legal opinion at the December 21 meeting.
The IMG was set up to look into the financial woes of the sector laden with debt. The Indian Banks' Association pegs the total debt at nearly Rs 7.7 lakh crore, with 70% of this in bank borrowings and spectrum liabilities.
The IMG has recommended giving telecom companies 16 years, including a two-year moratorium, to pay the price of spectrum they won in auctions, instead of 12 at present. Among other steps, it has also suggested lowering the rate of interest charged on penalties on delayed payment.
The Telecom Commission accepted suggestions of increasing the payment tenure and lowering the interest rate to 12% from existing 14%.
But it sought a legal opinion on whether profits from trading spectrum, not the amount of the full deal, could be considered as part of the revenue generated by carriers. The government takes a share of this revenue — called adjusted gross revenue (AGR) — through levies and fees.
He added that the ministry expects to take the decisions of the Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body of the telecom department, to the Cabinet for final approval by the month end.
"The recommendations of the IMG will be taken up at the TC meeting on December 21," the telecom minister said.
"We think the decisions will be taken to Cabinet by month end," minister Sinha added.
The minister added that the recommendations on net neutrality given by the telecom regulator are in line with the DoT committee that has been set up on the matter.
"The committee that DoT had made on net neutrality, Trai has give the same recommendations." Both the reports have allowed for reasonable traffic management practices and allowed for prioritizing emergency services.
The Telecom Commission is the top decision-making body within the Department of Telecommunications. The commission is also likely to consider the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) recommendations on spectrum caps and the legal opinion at the December 21 meeting.
The IMG was set up to look into the financial woes of the sector laden with debt. The Indian Banks' Association pegs the total debt at nearly Rs 7.7 lakh crore, with 70% of this in bank borrowings and spectrum liabilities.
The IMG has recommended giving telecom companies 16 years, including a two-year moratorium, to pay the price of spectrum they won in auctions, instead of 12 at present. Among other steps, it has also suggested lowering the rate of interest charged on penalties on delayed payment.
The Telecom Commission accepted suggestions of increasing the payment tenure and lowering the interest rate to 12% from existing 14%.
But it sought a legal opinion on whether profits from trading spectrum, not the amount of the full deal, could be considered as part of the revenue generated by carriers. The government takes a share of this revenue — called adjusted gross revenue (AGR) — through levies and fees.
