Soon our broadband charges will shoot up to 30%, as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended a uniform licence fee of eight percent on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for all Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country. It’s an increase from the early 4-5% fees levied by the telecom authority.
Other highlighted recommendations from TRAI include –
- TRAI recommends a uniform licence fee of 8% of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) shall be applicable for all ISP licences.
- Revenue for the purpose of licence fee for ISP shall include all types of revenue from Internet services, allowing only those deductions available for pass through charges and taxes/levies as in the case of access services, without any set-off for expenses. Revenues from Internet services shall also be included in the definition of AGR.
- For the existing ISPs who are holding BWA spectrum from the 2010 auction, the value of presumptive AGR shall be equal to 5% of sum of the total bid amount by the Licensee for the respective Service Area, as applicable to the licensees who obtained spectrum in the auctions conducted in November 2012 and March 2013.
According to latest TRAI report dated February 2014, India got around 58 million Broadband subscribers. It include subscribers from normal wired connection, wireless subscribers using mobile devices and dongles, and other wireless connection including Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio & VSAT. Wired Subscribers account for 14.80 million subscribers of which govt owned BSNL ranks the top.