Incremental SUC should be applicable only on spectrum band shared among telcos: TRAI

New Delhi: Incremental spectrum usage charges should be applicable only on frequency bands that are shared among telecom operators and not on the entire radiowaves held by them, telecom regulator TRAI reiterated its recommendation on Tuesday.

The Department of Telecom had earlier asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to reconsider its recommendation that an increment of 0.5 percent on the SUC rate should apply to the spectrum holding in a specific band in which sharing is taking place, and not on the entire spectrum holding (all bands) of the telecom operator.

Cost of spectrum sharing could surpass benefits achieved by the TSPs

"The Authority concurs with the views of the stakeholders that in case incremental SUC is made applicable on an overall weighted average, the cost of spectrum sharing could surpass the benefits achieved by the TSPs.
Moreover, there is no rationale in incrementing overall weighted average SUC, post sharing of spectrum in a specific band(s)," TRAI said in its reply to the DoT.

Telecom operators use various spectrum bands for providing services

At present, telecom operators use various spectrum bands like 700 Mhz band, 800 Mhz band, 900 Mhz band, 1,800 Mhz band, 2,100 Mhz band and so on for providing mobile services. Telecom operators share frequencies among themselves to meet network requirements based on factors like customer density in an area, utilisation level etc. Telecom operators are charged around three percent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as SUC.

Mobile service providers paid SUC of Rs 1,398 cr on AGR of about Rs 60,637 cr

In the quarter that ended in September 2022, mobile service providers paid SUC of Rs 1,398 crore on AGR of about Rs 60,637 crore. The matter of calculating SUC for spectrum sharing was initiated by the DoT in January 2020 after it received representation from the industry, requesting to levy an incremental SUC of 0.5 percent on the spectrum band that they are sharing.

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