Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja has urged Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to refund spectrum fee paid by two state-owned telecom firms — BSNL and MTNL – keeping in mind their social commitments of providing connectivity to villages and far-flung areas. They have both paid over Rs.29,000 crore for 3G and hi-speed broadband spectrum.
“BSNL is the only service provider giving connectivity to the far-flung rural areas. The service rendered by BSNL in the rural areas of the country cannot be replicated,” Mr. Raja said in letter to the Finance Minister. Notably, BSNL and MTNL have also sought refund of the spectrum chargers from the government.
Quoting the New Telecom Policy, 1999, Mr. Raja said erstwhile DoT (now BSNL) was not required to pay an entry fee for cellular mobile licences, which were bundled with initial spectrum of 4.4 Mhz.
