DoT Likely To Impose Licence Fees On National And State Level ISPs

The Department of Telecommunications is likely to reject a TRAI recommendation on licence fees for ISPs reports the Indian Express, quoting sources. DoT officials believe that asking ISPs to pay 6 percent of their revenue as licence fees will hamper the growth of Internet in the country. However, the DoT is likely to accept the recommendation on imposition of Rs. 20 lakh as licence fees for national licenses, and Rs. 10 lakh for state licenses. Currently, there is no license fee, and an entry free of Re. 1 for ISPs, while those holding Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) have to pay licence fees.

The DoT seems to be encouraging fragmentation in an industry that is already struggling to provide quality service – no revenue share licence fees for smaller players, and a licence fees for larger players clearly discourages consolidation. We’ve uploaded the TRAI recommendations here.

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