Telecom panel nod to reduce licence fee for VSAT operators . .

[iSK]

Satellite communications
companies will now be able
to operate in India at a
lower cost. The
TelecomCommission has
decided to reduce the
licence fee for these
companies based
onrecommendations from
the Telecom regulatory
Authority of India (Trai) and
acommittee of the
Department of
Telecommunications (DoT).
Now, satellite
communications companies,
referred as VSAT operators,
will have to pay Rs 10,000
as annual licence fee for
each satellite or a hub,
instead of Rs 16,000.
And, there would not be
any minimum licence fee,
which was Rs 16 lakh
earlier. While Trai had
recommended the licence
fee at Rs 8,000 per annum
per satellite, the
empowered committee of
the DoT had decided to
keep it at Rs 10,000.
The Telecom Commission
hastaken the decision
realising the increasing
need for satellite
communicationsfor the
security forces and disaster
management. According to
Trai data, thereare 11 VSAT
service providers.