The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday recommended reduction in licence fee, including spectrum charges, to 5 per cent from the current 8 per cent for private mobile radio trunking services (PMRTS) operators to facilitate growth in the sector.
Licence fee to be paid to the department of telecom and wireless planning and coordination and the royalty for spectrum together should not exceed 5 per cent of the adjusted gross revenue from the current 7.4 per cent-8.6 per cent, TRAI said.
Stating that the PMRT service is basically a 'closed user group' service, it has recommended that to retain the CUG characteristics, only one-way public switched telephone network (PSTN) connectivity should be allowed thereby not allowing a separate numbering scheme.
TRAI's other suggestion relates to increasing the quantum of PSTN connectivity.
PMRT service providers should be permitted usage of such interconnection in a month not exceeding 15 per cent of total airtime of the network during previous month, it said.
Favouring fee for captive licences, TRAI has recommended that there should be level playing field between captive users and commercial players.