The Hindu Business Line : Finance Ministry wants 3G revenues to be separated

New Delhi, Oct 28 The Ministry of Communications and IT has told Parliament that the decision to allow operators to pay separate spectrum charges on the revenues earned from 2G and 3G services, respectively, was based on the suggestion given by the Finance Ministry.

This assumes significance in the wake of recent reports that the Finance Ministry was upset with the Department of Telecom (DoT) for changing its earlier guideline in this regard.

On August 1, the DoT had announced that the spectrum charges will be payable on the combined revenues from 2G and 3G services. This would have meant that an operator such as Bharti Airtel would have to pay a total of 5 per cent of its total revenues if it won 3G spectrum (including 4 per cent of 2G revenue). However, on September 11, DoT amended the guideline and allowed operators to pay 1 per cent of its revenues earned from 3G services alone.

In response to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha on October 23, the Minister of State for Communications and IT, Mr Jyotiraditya Scindia, said that the decision to change the guidelines with respect to spectrum usage charge was based on the suggestions of the Ministry of Finance.

The issue of bifurcating revenues from 2G and 3G services has divided the telecom industry with the CDMA operators and the telecom regulator saying that it was technically impossible to split the two streams of income. Some CDMA players have even suggested keeping the 3G auction on hold till this issue is resolved.

On the other hand, GSM operators have offered a formula for separating revenues based on the traffic flow. GSM operators, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, are keen that the 3G auction takes place in January.