A committee set up by the Department of Telecom has proposed to include tower companies under the purview of the new unified licence regime.

2 types of licences

The panel has proposed to create two types of licences — one for service providers and another one for network operators in addition to the all encompassing unified licence.

Under the current licensing regime, tower companies are given an ‘Infrastructure Provider’ status and hence they are not required to pay any revenue share to the Government. However, if they are asked to migrate to the new unified licence regime then they will have to pay the entry fee and also the annual revenue share.

“Infrastructure providers shall also be covered under unified licence. The existing IP providers would be required to take the unified licence as soon as the same comes across into being and the conditions in the unified licences will apply to them,” a draft report of the DoT committee stated.

DOT’s proposal

Tower companies, including Viom and American Tower, have been opposing this move as, according to them, this is against the Government’s stated objective of expanding telecom infrastructure.

However, the DoT panel has proposed that IP companies that do not wish to take the full fledged unified licence can opt to take the licence meant for network operators. Under the unified licence (network service), companies will be allowed to set up even core network and transmission systems. However, in the case of unified licence (service delivery), operators will be allowed to only offer services to end users and not set up infrastructure. Those who want to do both services and infrastructure and services then they will have to take the full fledged unified licence.

“This model has got the inherent advantage that the implementation of converged network and services will become easier with freedom to the service delivery licensee to offer converged services,” the DoT panel said in its report.

>Thomas.thomas@thehindu.co.in

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