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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Dec. 14 Reliance Communications has told the Government that it would be unfair to raise the entry fee for new entrants as existing operators have taken the licence almost free of cost.

In a communication to the Finance Ministry, Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Communications, said that the Department of Telecom has issued 23 licences to existing GSM players as recently as in December 2006 based on the current entry fees.

“The new GSM entrants (including RCom) have been called upon to pay licence fees of the identical quantum as adopted by DoT for the aforesaid 23 licences issued as recently as in December 2006. It is submitted that, once the licence fees paid just 10 months back by leading GSM operators has been accepted by the Government as correct and proper, and has also duly been acted upon, it would be discriminatory and unfair to now suggest that the same requires revision for new entrants,” Mr Ambani said in the letter.

RCom’s letter comes in the wake of objections raised by the Finance Ministry on the entry fee fixed by DoT. The Ministry had asked DoT to clarify as to why the fee that was determined in 2001 was being considered.

DoT officials said that it was decided to levy Rs 1,650 crore for a pan-India telecom licence based on the recommendations of the telecom regulator and an earlier decision of the Union Cabinet.

RCom also said that existing operators, such as Idea Cellular which has applied for licences in nine circles in June 2006, and Spice Telecom which has applied for licences in 20 circles, for extending their footprint, are even today seeking to obtain the licence at the fees fixed in 2001, but, for everyone else, even these operators want the licence fees to be revised upwards.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Reliance Communications Ltd

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