The Hindu Business Line : DoT panel favours lifting rollout obligation for fixed line operators

New Delhi, Dec. 9 A panel set up by the Department of Telecom has suggested diluting the rollout obligations for mobile operators and completely removing it for fixed line telephone companies.

If the recommendations are accepted by DoT, it will come as a relief to the private operators most of whom have not completed their rollout targets set by the Government. The DoT had also proposed to impose a fine on all the operators who have not adhered to the obligation.

The committee was set up by the DoT after the industry claimed that the targets were unrealistic. Operators said that they could not fulfil the rollout obligation in time due to delays in allocating spectrum and getting clearances from various authorities.

Existing rules

For example, under the existing rules, operators are required to cover at least 10 per cent of each district headquarters in a circle within the first year of getting the licence. However, most operators could not launch their service in time since they got spectrum towards the end of the first year.

The committee has suggested that the date of allocating the radio frequency should be taken for computing the target. It has also said that existing targets at the end of one year should be removed, which means that the operators should be given only a 3-year target. Similar concessions have already been announced by DoT for new players. It has also proposed to do away with the condition to achieve coverage inside buildings. Mobile companies had raised concerns with this rule on grounds that it was not practical to provide cellular coverage inside each and every building.

The panel has said that operators should not be penalised for failing to achieve the targets in Assam, North-East and J&K circles.

The DoT panel has said that the decision to allocate additional spectrum to existing players should not be linked to whether the rollout conditions have been fulfilled or not. The recommendations will be discussed by the Telecom Commission, which will take the final decision on the issue.

The proposal will come as a relief for the operators who were earlier asked to collectively pay out in excess of Rs 400 crore to the Government for failing to complete the rollout obligation.